Naruto & Sonic: When Worlds Collide
by VGAfanatic
Summary: It's a Peaceful day in the Village of Konoha, until one day, a strange scientist attacks the Village and attempts to kidnap Naruto. But, he is Rescued, and Fights alongside a new ally to the Hidden Leaf, who can run at Super Sonic speed!
1. Arrival of a New Enemy

Chapter 1: Arrival of a New Enemy

It is a new day in Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Skies are blue, leaves are green, and the village inhabitants are living peacefully. Even the village's young shinobi are becoming stronger. Sakura has become an apprentice to Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, Shikamaru now leads his team valiantly and any others he can get together, Team 8 continues to enhance in strength, especially Hinata, who developed her own technique due to such harsh nonstop training. Rock Lee was able to properly recover from his injuries, and Neji shows confidence in both him and Hinata. The Sand shinobi offer their assistance, and have been forgiven for the incident a while back, and most importantly, Naruto Uzumaki trains every day, so he can find the lair of the dreaded Orochimaru, and return his beloved friend, Sasuke Uchiha to the village.

Although, lately, he has gotten had a bit of a tendency to overdo his determination, for he constantly hassles Tsunade about leaving the village to look for the dreaded Sannin's lair. The silence is about to be broken yet again…

"Whaddya mean I can't go?!"

Naruto is yet again furious with Tsunade for denying him permission to search for Sasuke.

"I've told you time and time again! We haven't got clues to where Orochimaru is hiding yet!"

"We won't know if we don't look, right?!"

"For the last time, NO!!!"

Their eyes soon glared within each other so fierce, one could see electricity running through them.

"Come on, Grandma Tsunade! I can't train because Pervy Sage hasn't been around to train me, plus the training schedule he gave me is hardly worth ANYTHING!!!"

"Then find someone ELSE to train with! I'm sure you'll come up with something if you put your mind to it."

Naruto growled very angrily, and then sorely admit defeat. "Fine!" He then stormed off in the opposite direction.

Tsunade then returned to her office and let out a big sigh. "I'm not sure how that boy could POSSIBLY inherit my position one day." She thought to herself as her assistant, Shizune brought in daily reports. "Still…the Fourth did have high hopes for him…" she continued as she signed her paperwork, "but he's just so damn headstrong…"

Meanwhile, Naruto was still frustrated about her decision. He did consider that she was looking out for the best in the inhabitants and ninjas of Konoha, but naturally, he was too stubborn to take her words to heart. So he got together with his friends, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Akamaru, Lee and Neji, and headed over to the pond to train.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at Tsunade's office, there was a knock on Tsunade's door. "Come in." she said, and behind it was Iruka, who finished filing a reconnaissance report. "Ah, Iruka. Back from your daily recon, I see."

"Lady Tsunade, in my research, I could not come up with any new information about Orochimaru's whereabouts." Iruka spoke.

"That is unfortunate." She replied. "Naruto wouldn't be happy to hear that."

"I did notice that he had grown very close to Sasuke while teaching under Kakashi."

"That is why" she said with true concern, "he will not stop at anything to find where he is…"

"Although…" Iruka replied, remembering the fruits of his mission.

"Although?"

"I did find something in my scouting mission…"

Iruka seemed unsure upon this remark.

"Well, let's hear it!" Tsunade retorted with interest for this discovery.

"I saw…" he began, "well…" he continued to show uncertainty. "I'm not quite sure how to put this, but…"

"_Out With It!_"

"A gigantic metal fortress about fifty meters off the outskirts of the village…" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "It is _flying_, by the way…I know it sounds crazy, but that was the result of our recon."

"Indeed…" Tsunade replied with both disbelief, and great interest. "You are dismissed."

"Thank you."

As Iruka made his exit, Tsunade returned to her daily duties, and did seem rather interested by this 'flying fortress' that Iruka mentioned.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the training grounds, Naruto had little luck getting sparring partners. Neji was training with Hinata and her father and Shikamaru and Ino had to take Choji to the hospital, since he got indigestion, yet again, so the best he could get were Kiba and Lee, and Akamaru of course, who are always looking for a challenge.

"Okay!" Naruto shouted with great ambition, signaling for their training to start, "You guys ready for this?!"

"No Problem!" Kiba replied, "Akamaru and I are always looking for a scrap!"

"Bark, Bark!" Akamaru continued.

"Same here!" concluded Lee, positioning himself in his Taijutsu fighting stance, "for while I am within the Springtime of my youth, nothing will stop us from this training session!"

"These guys have just as much spirit as ever," Naruto thought to himself, "they may not be Sasuke, but at least I can get a good time from them."

They stood in position for at least five seconds before Naruto broke the silence with…

"BEGIN!"

Then Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru leapt behind themselves into the bushes and trees, leaving Lee to stand in the field by himself, waiting for one of them to make their move. As the wind blew, Lee reached into the pouch on his waist and pulled out two Kunai. The wind blew some more, and he heard rustling in the tree to his right. He threw one Kunai over to it, forcing Kiba to leap from his hiding place and towards Lee.

"**Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu**!" Kiba shouted and got upon all four of his limbs, hence the title, and started running towards Lee like a dog. Kiba leapt at Lee and prepared to punch, with him to block with his left arm and counterattack by kicking. Kiba was hit, but he rebounded with the log post behind him, and leapt back at him. Then another Kunai came from the tree to their left, which Kiba could block by swiping at with his "claws." Then Naruto leapt from the tree and threw three more Kunai at them, which forced them both out of their close battle. The third Kunai went to the tree where Kiba was, and Akamaru leapt from there and onto Kiba's back.

"**Man-Beast Clone**!" Akamaru then transformed into a splitting image of Kiba, and the two made separate paths, One Kiba to Lee, and the other to Naruto. The Kiba that went towards Naruto suddenly made a swiping gesture, but Naruto was unable to block it, and his claws cut through his body, until, "POOF" Naruto disappeared, for what Kiba attacked was a Shadow Clone. Then three more Narutos leapt from the same tree and proceeded to engage him in hand-to-hand combat. They all ambushed him, but Kiba, being quick on his feet, managed to dodge most of them and counterattack the others, with his punches and kicks to his three opponents.

Lee could also hold his own against the other Kiba, who both proceeded to continue in his techniques. Kiba punched Lee, who reacted with a block, and countered with a "**Dynamic Entry**" kick, which Kiba grabbed, and threw upwards, making Lee do a spinning motion, and landed on the ground with his hands, and leapt back up to do a "**Leaf Whirlwind**" spinning kick to his opponent, which Kiba could only block, before ducking under the last and reacted with an uppercut, which went threw Lee's kick and hit him on the chin.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in the near distance, someone appears to be watching the young shinobis' progress, as if from a computer screen.

"It looks like you were right, Doctor." A female voice spoke.

"Indeed he was," another said, "just like he is about everything."

"I am flattered by your compliments, ladies." said the voice of a middle-aged man who sat in the main seat of the ship's cockpit, while the two girls sat beside him. Their appearance was indistinguishable since the room was concealed in shadow. "We shall see to it that this young boy's power is contained where it won't harm anyone." He focused his screen upon Naruto, who wasn't using his shadow clones anymore.

"But Doctor," the girl on the right responded with disarray, "what if _he_ shows up to ruin your plans?"

"Yes," the other said in consideration, "just as always, _he_ will attempt to spoil your benevolence."

The man in center twirled his large mustache and said, "Well, don't you worry in the slightest, girls!" Then he stood up and pointed his finger forward in great ambition, "Because if he does come, I've got my robot army to slow him down a little!" The two girls looked forward and nodded in agreement. "That's a relief," They said in unison, "You sure are brilliant, Doctor." The three of them laughed and accelerated their ship forward, even closer to those training grounds than they were earlier.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well," Kiba took a deep breath in slight exhaustion. "I think we got enough training down today."

"Bark, Bark!" Akamaru replied.

"Awwwwwww!" Naruto whined, "But I was just getting started! C'mon, Kiba, How 'bout one more round? I can take ya! Believe it!" Kiba sighed and stretched his body, clearly brushing the challenge off, earning him a dirty look.

"Kiba's right, Naruto." Lee replied, equally exhausted, "We must conserve our strength for real challenges." He brought his hand out to Naruto as if to shake it, calling a stalemate. "After all, it's not as if someone will attack us right away."

Naruto sighed, and by shaking Lee's hand, finally admitted defeat. "Yea, I guess you're right." He gave a large, silly grin. "C'mon, Bushy-Brows. I could really go for some Ichiraku Ramen right about now."

"Me too!" Kiba said, "Bark, Bark!" Akamaru replied, sticking his tounge out in a pant, earning him a pat on the head from Kiba.

Suddenly a loud rumbling was heard, and Kiba raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, Naruto, you must be hungrier than I thought…" he said as though it was obvious.

"That wasn't me." Naruto said, feeling suspicious.

"It wasn't him, Kiba," Lee replied, "I could feel that from my feet…"

The rumbling soon caused the area to shake, strong enough that the three almost fell to the ground, but stood firm, thanks to their chakra control. Suddenly, Naruto pointed out to the distance, saying "Look!" signaling what caused the shaking, and out from the distant, yet not too far trees, a giant mechanical flagship rose from them. It was large, had large panels that functioned like sails, a tower which was presumably where the pilot's station would be, and seemed to be colored either crimson or maroon. It had large panels on its sides, which almost looked like wings, and on them was a symbol that seemed to be shaped like a face with circular eyes, a round nose and a large mustache that proceeds past both sides of his face.

"This doesn't look good." Kiba said, and Akamaru whimpered in response.

"Come on," Lee said, "We've got to warn the Hokage."

"Wow…!" Naruto said in awe of this sight. "That looks cool! Let's go check it out!"

"NARUTO!" both Kiba and Lee said in unison, as well as Akamaru barking in that same rhythm, followed by the two of them grabbing his shoulders and dragging him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in Konoha, Tsunade takes her time to enjoy a nice spa bath and some sake to drown her cares away. "Ahhhh…" she said as she sunk deeper into the hot spring. "There's nothing like a good rest in the hot springs to fade my worries and cares away." Then she pulled out her beloved bottle of sake to drink to her heart's content. "And where would I be without you, my precious?" As she took a sip, she began to lose herself in thought. "That ship Iruka told me about has me a bit curious…It couldn't be Orochimaru…such prowess is beyond even him…" she then shrugged and shook it off. "Oh, what am I worrying about?" she said as she took another sip. "Such a thing couldn't possibly come this far…or even exist…could it?" she then looked back to the clouds, still lost in curiosity.

"GRANDMA TSUNADE!!!" shouted a familiar knuckle-headed Genin in the background, causing her to panic slightly.

Suddenly, he opened the door to the Ladies spa, with Kiba and Lee following behind.

"Lady Tsunade, there's something you gotta-" he started, but was quickly overcome by seeing her nude figure in the spa.

Suddenly, it was completely silent. Tsunade looked at the Genin and Vice Versa. Tsunade was blushing from embarrassment from being seen nude by men. But they were still children. The three genin were ogling the sight of Tsunade nude within a hot spring, and slowly dropped their faces to Tsunade's large breasts, which were floating in the water. Naruto was stunned, Kiba was smiling slightly, and Lee started to twitch.

The four stared for about five seconds, before Tsunade bagan to frustrate, and then shout, "NARUTO!" causing Naruto to panic, Kiba to bleed from his nose before passing out and Lee to twitch in many places, making it look as if he was dancing, while having a blank stare of embarrassment. "WHAT have I told you about KNOCKING FIRST?!?" She then began to throw things at the three, forcing them to run away. "How would YOU like it if I showed up to YOU while you were naked in a hot spring, huh?!?" As they ran, they apologized several times, while debris was still hitting them upside their heads.

XXXXX

About Fifteen Minutes later, Tsunade was dried off, fully clothed and properly prepared to listen to their emergency situation. Kakashi, Guy and Kurenai were waiting outside her office so they could deal the punishment to their respective students for their inconvenient and rude intrusion.

"All right, you three," she said with frustration and intrigue, "This had better be good."

"Aright!" Naruto began, "So there we were, the three of us were training in the fields," Naruto's explanation seemed to be explaining an arrogant action story. "Kiba had me locked in a headlock, and choked me out, but it wasn't me at all! It was a Shadow Clone! I jumped out from the tree, and I was gonna leap at him with a HUGE Rasengan! But Bushy-Brows jumps out and-"

"GET TO THE POINT!" Tsunade was furious now.

Kiba gulped and said, "You see lady Hokage, what our bonehead comrade is trying to say," he said as Naruto shot a dirty look at Kiba, "is that while we were Training, we felt a large rumbling, and some kind of giant...metal building," Tsunade's anger suddenly became intrigue. "rose into the sky as though it were flying." Lee then continued with, "Yes, Ma'am! We suspect it might be coming toward the village, so we came to warn you as fast as possible!" Tsunade then recalled Iruka's recon report from earlier. "Lady Shizune told us you were in the hot spring, so that's how we were able to find you." Then a vein popped out onto her forehead. "Oh, _did_ she now?" she said in frustration about her assistant.

Then there was a knock on the door. "Enter!" she said.

Then Shizune came into the doorway, followed by Kakashi, Guy and Kurenai, who were still not exactly happy about that little incident earlier. They shot a look at their students, causing them to drop sweat from the backsides of their heads.

"Ah, Shizune!" Tsunade said. "What a coincidence. I have a little bit of a bone to pick with you."

"Can it wait?" Shizune pleaded, "We've got an emergency on our hands."

"What is it?"

"Well, a large flying metal tower, or something seems to have appeared outside of the village."

"What?! When did this happen?!"

"Well, it's right outside the window behind you…"

She pointed to the window behind them, and Tsunade, Naruto, Kiba, Lee, Kakashi, Kurenai and Guy rushed over to the window to see what it was. And indeed she was right. The very same ship that the three Genin, and the Chunin, Iruka saw had just entered the village. And without saying a word, the seven of them rushed out for a closer look, with Shizune tagging behind.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn't very peaceful outside the village, either. Within the Hyuga house, Neji and Hinata were overwhelmed by this spectacle. Sakura had to cut her medical training short to view this discovery. At the Academy, Iruka was gathering the students inside the classroom to keep them in safety. And as he did, Iruka recognized the ship as the very same from his scouting mission. Many of the villagers came out to see it, regardless of whether it might be hostile or not. Shikamaru and Asuma went out to see, while Ino had to stay and look after Choji, still struck by his stomachache.

Also, far outside the village, a certain spectator viewed this appearance. "So," he said to himself, "Looks like he's here, too…"

The Hokage as well as the Jonin, their Genin students and Shizune rushed out to see the giant airship that had parked above the Hidden Leaf Village. Shikamaru, Neji, Hinata, Asuma and Sakura ran into the scene to see what was going on.

"Kakashi-Sensei, what's happening?" Sakura asked.

"Take a look for yourself." Kakashi said as he pointed.

Just as Kakashi pointed at the ship, a hatch on its underside opened and several robots fell out from it and landed around the group surrounding Naruto. They prepared weapons, which were mounted to their arms, and prepared as if to shoot them. Suddenly, Sakura looked up and pointed for the rest to as well. A hovering vehicle floated in front to approach the Hokage's group. Hinata and Sakura were frightened, and Kurenai embraced and shielded them. Naruto, Tsunade and the rest braced themselves for battle.

Standing up from the vehicle was a man who wore a red overcoat with white lining and golden buttons, black pants with feet and boots, he seemed rather obese and wore dark sunglasses and goggles, and had a long pink nose and a large and long brown mustache running across his face. He looked at Naruto and gave a large smile, a shine within his teeth, causing him to glare back. Next to him were two teenage girls who wore a similar outfit to one another, a sweatshirt and short shorts, they seemed to have an emotionless look on their faces, save for an evil-looking smile, they wore tennis shoes and had long black hair with a ribbon tied on opposing sides of their heads. They looked as though they might be twins.

"Who are you to enter our village?" Tsunade spoke, "State your business here!"

"You should be bowing and begging for mercy." said the girl with the ribbon on the right side of her head.

"Otherwise the doctor won't give you a very friendly checkup." said the opposite girl.

"It is a Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Fifth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves." The man said and took a noble bow, as if to a queen. "My name is Dr. Eggman."

"Alright then, Dr. Eggman," Tsunade replied with anger in her eye, "Why is your arrival in our village so important that you must place your vehicle above our fair town unannounced, and call your soldiers to prepare for an attack?"

"I'm glad you asked, my dear." Eggman said, "I plan to take over this world."

"Ha!" Tsunade scoffed, "And how do you plan to do that? The people you have at gunpoint here are very skilled ninja, who can easily stand up to your machines. Why do you think we would stand down?"

"Quite simple actually." Eggman said, as he made a hand gesture, commanding the robots to turn around and point their guns at the village. Everyone gasped in terror, and Tsunade was even madder. "If you give something to me, then I won't reduce your village to smoldering rubble!" Tsunade glared at him and retorted with, "Name what it is, and I _might_ consider giving it to you." Eggman smirked and the two girls snickered. "Well, rather I should say 'someone' I want." Tsunade and the Jonin, as well as a certain orange-wearing Genin gasped in realization of what it was. Then Eggman pointed his finger at exactly who it was he required.

Naruto.

Naruto gasped at this, and clenched his teeth and fists at Eggman. "If this guy wants Naruto, it can only be for one reason," Kurenai thought to herself, "To obtain the power of the Nine Tailed Fox," Guy continued in thought, "and unleash it upon the world and claim it for his own…" Kakashi finished the thoughtful explanation. "Now if you don't mind, Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto gasped, and thought "How does he already know my name…?" Eggman made a finger gesture telling him to come towards him. "You shall be coming with me."

Naruto stood his ground, obviously not pleased by the idea of accompanying that pudgy dictator-to-be, and he felt a soft gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up and Tsunade said, "As Hokage, it is my sworn duty to protect this village and everyone in it." Naruto smiled at her in forgiveness. "You may not have Naruto, _and_…"

Suddenly the robots turned stiff and lowered their weapons, much to the astonishment of Eggman and the two girls, then suddenly, everyone smirked, and disappeared into a cloud of smoke and from them came wooden logs, with the exception of Tsunade, Naruto and Shikamaru, who used his **Shadow Net Jutsu** to restrain them. "…You may not destroy our village." She grabbed Naruto and leapt away from Dr. Eggman's Hover-car. Shikamaru released the Jutsu and leapt in follow. "You little rats! You're not gonna get away with him!" He raised his hand and waved it. "ATTACK!" Then the robots began firing the machine guns mounted on their arms, destroying objects and buildings in range.

Within a safe gathering, the battling shinobi quickly discussed their strategy. "Kurenai," Tsunade said, "you and the other girls get the villagers to a safe place." She nodded, and they left. "Everyone else, defend the home you live in!" They all nodded and left. Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Lee and Neji confronted the robots surrounding Dr. Eggman, and their Jonin teachers took care of the others.

Naruto made the hand signal for "**Shadow Clone Jutsu**!" and became five different Narutos. Kiba gestured for "**Man Beast Clone**!" and turned Akamaru into himself. Lee, Neji and Shikamaru positioned themselves and prepared for battle. But then, Naruto felt a slight breeze. Everyone else felt it as well, because it grew bigger and moved in a circular tornado motion. A blue circular tornado motion.

"Hey there, Eggman!" a voice spoke from atop a wooden pole. "Sorry to be tardy to the party!" The figure stood on two feet, and appeared to be a hedgehog…a blue hedgehog. He had green eyes, and wore gloves and red sneakers with white straps and a buckle on the outer edge of each shoe. He had long and large spikes on the back of his head and a confident smirk on his face. Dr. Eggman growled in complete anger of this figure. "You!" he said. "Not him again!" the two girls shouted at the same time. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!" the blue figure replied, "I just thought I'd invite a few guests!"

He looked over into the distance, where a blue airplane was flying, and in it were a fox with two tails, a pink hedgehog in a red dress and a young boy with spiky hair, who appeared to the same age as Naruto. "Well, now that everyone's here, let the fun begin!" the hedgehog replied, smartly.

"Oh, we'll begin, all right!" Eggman shouted gruffly, then made the same arm gesture as before, "ATTACK!" On that note, the robots fired more missiles, but this time at the hedgehog. As they hit the pole, the hedgehog leapt, and the pole exploded. He leapt toward the first robot and it exploded the second he hit it. Then he made to the ground, and started running so fast, even Kakashi's Sharingan couldn't keep up.

"Well, I'm not gonna let the new guy have all the fun!" Naruto shouted with utmost confidence.

"For once, I agree with Naruto!" Kiba said in response, and leapt at even more robots with "**Piercing Fang**!" and spun at them with full force!

Naruto and his clones were faced with even more robots. Exactly as many there were of himself. Naruto scoffed them, and threw a shuriken at each robot, hitting each target clan on, and leaping at them with a tremendous kick. They fell over and exploded.

Neji was surrounded by many robots and activated his "**Byakugan**!" to see their power level. He spat on the ground and said, "Don't make me laugh." And then, as the robots, apparently angered by this comment, charged for him, he countered with "**Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation**!" and sent them flying back as if they were nothing.

"**Dynamic Entry**!" Lee was having even less trouble than the others, for these robots were easily brought to their knees by simple Taijutsu tactics. "Hmph!" he remarked, "These guys are hardly a challenge for one such as myself!" He turned around, "Guy-Sensei!" he called out to Guy, who easily finished a few robots himself. "How was my performance, Guy-Sensei?" Guy gave him a thumbs-up gesture and said, "That's Fabulous, Lee! Keep up the good work, and remember to give it 110!" Lee saluted and said, "I'll do you one better! I'll give it 125!" Guy smiled. "The more the Merrier!" Neji and Kakashi, who were watching this, simply sighed.

Kakashi, Asuma and Guy had no problem defeating the robots, which seemed to be coming at them relentlessly, without end. Kakashi had defeated twenty, and Guy defeated twenty-one. "Well, Kakashi," Guy smirked, "looks like I win again!" Kakashi simply looked over his shoulder and said "Don't get too overconfident, Guy." Asuma showed up towards them and cut through two robots that were about to ambush them. "These things won't go away just yet!" he said, "Oh, and by the way, that makes thirty for me." Guy groaned and Kakashi sighed.

Shikamaru finished counting the robots surrounding him, and reached fifteen. He sighed and said "What a drag…" and used "**Shadow Possession Jutsu**!" to form a circle around himself, holding all fifteen in place. "You guys aren't even worth it, and yet, I've gotta do it anyway." He then used "**Shadow Strangle Jutsu**!" to bind them within his power, causing them all to dismember and explode. "I don't even know what that guy wants with Naruto of all people, anyway…"

Naruto dispatched his clones, just as more robots appeared. The blue hedgehog made just as good work as everybody else fighting for the village, leaping at every single one with full force, save for the ones already being fought. "HEY!" Naruto called out to him, just as he was about to run even more, bringing him to a skidding halt. "You were awesome! My Name is Naruto Uzumaki! What's yours?" The hedgehog was impressed by his valor, and smiled. "I'm Sonic!" Just then a robot shot at him, but he avoided the shot and leapt right on top of him, and back in front of Naruto.

"Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Sonic!" the fox driving the plane called out, and shot a missile in his direction. "Catch!" he said just as the missile, which was actually a capsule, opened, revealing a shining ring. Sonic managed to catch the ring, and began emanating with Power. He then ducked down for a somersault and began flashing as he was rolling! Naruto, who was impressed by _his_ valor, said "Whoa…!" Sonic then dashed out to even more pursuiting robots and leapt at them continuously.

Upon the explosion of one robot, its head flew towards an apartment that was destroyed by missile blasts, and careened into a crumbling wall, which caused it to crumble even more and fall above the area where Kurenai, Sakura, Hinata, Shizune and many other innocents gathered. They screamed in panic and braced for impact, but then it was destroyed before it could even hit the ground, or innocents for that matter. As they opened their eyes, standing in front of them was a figure with red fur and long dreadlocks, and large fists with spiked knuckles on them. He wore red and yellow shoes with buckles on top of them. He appeared to be an echidna. He turned around and asked the kunoichis, "Is this everybody?"

"I think there may still be more out there!" Kurenai responded. He smiled and turned back, saying, "Don't even worry about it. I bet Cream and Big are taking care of it right now." Right on cue, a young girl's voice called out, "Knuckles!" to which he replied, "Speak of the devil." Then three figures, followed by even more civilians approached them. One was a rabbit with ears that go down to her ankles, an orange dress and shoes and her fur was colored very creamy, meaning she is Cream. With her was a smaller creature, which floated next to her, had bright aqua and yellow skin, and a very cute face, and wore a bowtie. The third was a cat with large ears, wore a belt and boots, had purple fur, beady yellow eyes, and he was very large, hence his name, Big. He had a frog on his shoulder.

"We've brought more villagers!" said Cream. "Chao, Chao!" said the smaller creature, which is his species and his name was Cheese. "Okay, everybody! Get in here!" Big said loud and clear, and the villagers went in the safe area.

"Would that be everybody, now?" Knuckles asked. "That's everybody!" Cream replied. "Now, just let Sonic and the rest of us take care of this!" Sakura was rather confused, and asked, "Um, who's Sonic?" Before Knuckles could answer, Hinata shrieked and pointed to several robots ambushing Knuckles. Then, various kunai, shuriken and other such weapons flew in their direction.

"**Twin Rising Dragons**!" shouted Tenten as two chakra-fiery dragons circled around herself, forming into two spiraling scrolls, giving them the full force of various metal weapons and leaving them as piles of scrap metal. Then, she leapt over and said, "Whew! Well, we're making quick work of this guy, no problem!" The kunoichi gave a remark of relief and thankfulness. "By the way," she said, "I don't remember Lady Tsunade investing in a zoo…?" Knuckles was annoyed by that comment. "Hey, do I look like some kind of caged monkey to you?"

Shikamaru was surrounded by even more robots, which was a real drag. Shikamaru gave a sigh and thought, "There's no end to this…" Then, one Robot was about to shoot him, but made a large Jolt, before aiming its weapon at the other robots. It began shooting the others, much to their confusion. Shikamaru was as well, but quickly realized the force at work. "Ino." He said. When they were dispatched, more robots appeared and aimed their weapons at the Ino-bot. They shot it down, leaving Shikamaru stunned. "Comin' Through! **Human Boulder**!" came another voice, as a large boulder rushed through. Shikamaru jumped out of Choji's way before he flattened the robots that shot down the one Ino used to have control of.

Choji undid his Jutsu, and Ino rushed over to Shikamaru. "Good to see you're all right." Shikamaru said. "I'm Fine!" Ino said brashly, "those bolt-brains didn't lay a scratch on me!" This is true, since Ino released her "**Mind Body Switch**" before the remaining robots shot it to death. He turned to Choji and said, "You look perfectly fine. Glad you made it!" Choji grinned and remarked, "I guess I was always a quick healer!" He pulled a bag of potato chips out and started eating them. Ino and Shikamaru laughed in unison.

One robot Kiba was fighting quickly became covered in bugs, thanks to a certain Aburame clan member's "**Parasitic Insects Jutsu**." "Glad you could make it!" Kiba said to Shino. "I couldn't just stand by while our village is being blown to bits." Shino replied nonchalantly as the robot dismantled under the pressure of his bugs. Suddenly, another group of robots came in and prepared to shoot the two shinobi down. "**Transforming NOW**!" a voice from above spoke, as the plane he piloted reformed its limbs to become a battle walker. He began shooting the robots that came near, and launched a bomb at those from a distance. "Behind you!" Kiba shouted to him, as a robot was about to attack Tails from behind.

This was quickly outdone by the pink hedgehog who was with him, who pulled out a giant hammer and smashed it to pieces. Kiba was dumbfounded, thinking, "She's as scary as Sakura…" Shino stood there. "Nice work out there, Tails!" she said. "You too, Amy!" he replied. "Who are you guys?" Kiba asked demandingly, while Shino agreed with, "We acknowledge your skill and thank you for your assistance, but you are strange people. Why would you want to help us?" The spiky haired boy appeared next to him, wearing a red shirt with a black sweatshirt underneath it, blue pants and sneakers walked up to him and said, "Once Dr. Eggman's finished, we'll tell you the whole story."

"Doctor…" panicked the girl to the right of Dr. Eggman, "these pests are making very quick work of your kind little robots!"

"She's right," said the right, "Our robots are being man-handled!"

Just as quickly, Sonic span through the last of the robots, and everyone in the village, particularly the shinobi and Sonic's company walked up to Eggman's hover-car, and the expressions upon their faces weren't exactly happy with him.

"Well, Eggman," Sonic said, "Looks like you've been beaten, yet again."

"N-n-now Sonic," said the 'Good' doctor in a panic, "Let's not get hasty…I do have a good reason for this…"

"Save it, Eggman!" Knuckles outburst, causing him and his twins to shudder back.

"You come here," Kakashi explained, "openly announce your world domination plan, attempt to capture one of our beloved shinobi, destroy almost half of the village, and you expect us to believe there's a good reason behind this?"

"You've got nerve if you think we'll forgive ya that easily." Shikamaru threatened.

"What's more," Amy said, holding her hammer with a smirk on her face, "If you thought you could actually get away from us, then you're so sadly mistaken!"

"I think now would be a good time to regroup, Doctor!" the girls panicked. "Please, they look like they mean business!"

"I guess a retreat will do for now…" Eggman said with worry, but quickly shook it off and placed the usual smirk on his face.

"You village idiots win for now," he said as the girls aside him joined him, "but know that once I see a plan, I will always see to it that it comes to fruition." Then he pointed a finger at Naruto, "You won't escape me, child!" He turned his hand to Sonic, "and you won't stop me, Sonic!"

"I've had enough of your voice! **Shadow Clone Jutsu**!" Naruto shouted forming only one clone, which started forming Chakra upon his palm.

"Let's get out of here!" shrieked the girls in unison. On that, Eggman ascended his Egg-mobile to the hull of the ship.

"You're not getting away, this time!" Sonic shouted, and then ducked down and started kicking in a circular motion. He did this repeatedly, and picked up speed. A spiral of wind formed around himself, and he said, "Naruto, hop on!" Naruto, who finished his ball, said "Right!" and ran over to Sonic and jumped on top of him. When he did, he jumped again, reaching higher height thanks to the updraft, just enough to reach the Egg-mobile, and performed his "**Rasengan**!" and drove the sphere into the hover-car, forcing it backward until it exploded, but the impact sent the three flying into their ship, with Eggman shouting "**I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG**!!!"

The ship flew away, and everyone was saved. Naruto landed on the ground, next to Sonic. Both turned around, and looked at the villagers, first with a serious look upon their face, which after ten seconds, turned into a heroic smile and thumbs up, earning them great applause from their peers.

"Well," said Sonic, to which Naruto looked at him with concern. "Eggman's right. He's not gonna give up anytime soon, so it looks like we'll be sticking around for a while." Naruto smiled as Sonic gave him thumbs up. "This feels like the beginning of a whole new adventure!" Naruto smiled back and said, "I'm lookin' forward to it! Believe it!"


	2. Chaos Control

Chapter 2: Chaos Control

The day of Dr. Eggman's attack brought a damper in the village's condition. Houses and apartments were destroyed, so repairs were quickly being made to them. Fortunately, no one was paying for them, except Eggman, with his humiliation. Even the streets were being swept up of the burning of the robots' explosions. Plus, the remains that weren't being cleaned up were being recycled, so the money could go to the village's repairs. Medic-nins were also making work of healing those who were injured by Eggman's robots. This was also a method to test Sakura's healing skills, which she took without complaint or argument.

Within the main building in the Hokage's office, Tsunade was congratulating Sonic and his friends' valor in the face of danger as well as thanking them for their assistance in fighting off Dr. Eggman. Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, Lee, and their teachers were standing there, also accepting congratulations for their bravery.

"I thank you for your assistance against that terrible Dr. Eggman," Tsunade began her announcement, "and I congratulate you for your bravery in the face of incredible danger!" She then bowed her head, and stood firmly back up, placing her hands on her hips. "Konoha has your support, you have ours, and we will gladly take it when it's needed!"

"No sweat!" Sonic said, stroking his finger across his nose in a casual sense.

"I would like to ask what exactly compelled you to come here, but first, I would also like to know your names, as well as some information about yourselves and our opposing enemies." Tsunade said firmly as she re-seated herself. "Particularly what you like, what you hate, and your natural skills."

"Gladly!" Sonic went first, and stepped forward. "My name is Sonic the Hedgehog!" he stood with one leg over the other, and snapped his fingers. "I'm faster than light, and I never back down from danger or a challenge!"

Naruto, Kiba and Lee were in complete and total awe of him with stars in their eyes, while Shikamaru and Neji were simply nodding that they were impressed.

"Wow!" Naruto spoke, "He's so awesome!"

"Yeah!" Kiba said, "That speed even puts my own to shame!"

"Bark, Bark!"

"He's Incredible!" Lee said, "but he's nothing compared to Guy-Sensei!"

Neji and Shikamaru sighed at their embarrassing behavior.

Sonic stood back firmly, "I love chili-dogs, and I hate Eggman!" Everyone else nodded in agreement. Naruto curiously asked, "Kakashi-sensei, what's a chili-dog?" Sonic then felt a chill down his spine and collapsed into a fetal position. Amy pulled him back, then Tails stepped forward.

"My name is Miles Prower!" he said, "But everybody calls me Tails!" Everybody considered his nickname and Shikamaru rolled his eyes at how "original" it was. "I'm a pretty good mechanic," Tails continued, "and I can fly with my two tails, like this." Then started twisting his tails like a helicopter rotor, and started to lift from the floor. "That's impressive!" Kurenai remarked. "I love to build things that will help Sonic," Tails continued, "I hate it when something bad happens to my machines or my friends." Everyone was pleased with his compassion.

When Tails returned to the ground, Knuckles stepped forward.

"My name's Knuckles the Echidna!" He stood in a position with his clenched fist in front of half of his face. "I'm super strong, and I'm the guardian of the Master Emerald, and I gotta guard it from danger 24/7!" Everyone was stunned and unamused by his comment.

"If you have to guard it every day…" Kakashi saracastically said, "Then what are you doing here right now?" Knuckles was quickly overcome by his criticism and hunched over.

Tails came up and said, "I installed a security system on his island, so that no one would even think to steal his Emerald." Knuckles got back up with exaggerated tears in his eyes, and quickly wiped them away. "I love to eat fruits." Everyone nodded, "And I Absolutely HATE it when my Emerald is stolen behind my back!" His eyes flamed as Amy stepped forward and Tails pulled him back.

"My name is Amy Rose!" she said with a cheerful expression and a wink. Naruto, Kiba and Lee blushed and grinned at that. "I'm a cute girl who loves the high life," she pulled out her Hammer and smirked, "but make me mad and I'll see to it that you're flat as a pancake." The three genin sulked. "I absolutely _loooooove_ a certain member of this committee!" Sonic quickly ducked down, making it obvious to everyone. "And I hate Dr. Eggman!"

Cream stepped forward and Cheese floated behind.

"My name is Cream the Rabbit, and this is Cheese." She said, and Cheese said "Chao, Chao!" Kurenai, Naruto, Kiba, Lee and Guy all were awed by how cute the pair were. Kakashi, Neji and Shikamaru sighed to this. "I hope we didn't make a bad impression when that mean old Dr. Eggman came here…" she said innocently. Tsunade looked at her eyes, and was reminded of her little brother, whose eyes always looked innocent. She chuckled, saying, "Not at all, dear…"

"I love to play with Cheese and help out my friends when they're saving everyone." Everyone smiled at that. "But I don't like fighting. It's very scary to me…" Everyone was swayed by her words. Kurenai walked up to her and said, "Frankly, I prefer not to fight, myself." Cream looked up to her and smiled. "You remind me of one of my own students." She said. The two walked back to their positions and Big walked over.

"My name is Big the Cat." He said, "And this is my little buddy, Froggy!" Froggy jumped and said, "Ribbit, Ribbit!" Everyone nodded to him and Naruto thought, "At least this little guy's quiet." He sweat-dropped. "Chief Toad and his kids are hardly as sociable…"

Big scratched the back of his head. "I like to go fishing with Froggy." Then he pulled out a fishing rod, "If you know of a good spot, do you think we could go there sometime?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I don't see why not." She replied. "Okay," he said, "I don't like any kind of violence, or to hurt those cute little fishies." Tsunade smiled. "No harm there."

Big stepped back and the human boy of their group walked over.

"My name is Christopher Thorndyke, but you can all call me Chris." Everyone nodded. Naruto looked at him and thought, "He's about as old as I am…" Then Chris spoke again. "I'm an inventor who's been there for Sonic and friends when push came to shove." Naruto then bugged his eyes out and thought, "Wow! That's more impressive than Shikamaru being a Chunin!"

"I like a fine cuisine meal every now and then, but I can't stand seeing my friends get hurt." Everyone applauded their compassion for one another, but Guy was curious to know, "Hey, how can you be an inventor? You're only thirteen years old!" Chris turned to him, "Well, the fact is, I'm actually nineteen, but the atmosphere on Mobius keeps me young." Everyone stared, and looked at each other. "I turned back into this shape using the power of Chaos Control."

"Chaos Control?" Tsunade asked with an eyebrow raised. "And what would that be?" Sonic's allies then began to look at each other. "Do you think the Chaos Emeralds were sent here as well?" They all shrugged, but were loud enough for all to hear. "What are Chaos Emeralds?" Naruto pondered equally as loud.

Then the Sonic team turned back to each other and nodded.

"You wanted to know why we're here, right?" Sonic asked Tsunade. She looked at him with deep concern, and nodded. "Well, the fact of the matter is," Sonic began, "That we're from another dimension." Everyone gasped and bugged their eyes out. "And so is Dr. Eggman." He continued, "Well, actually, his name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik, but one day, we started calling him Eggman, and it kinda stuck." Everyone stared at him. "And those teen girls who were with him, they're not human. They're androids." Everyone stared at him with questionable looks in their eyes. "What's an android?" Sonic replied with "A robot made to look exactly like a human." Amy whispered to Tails, "Spiky blondie's not very smart, is he?"

"You see," Sonic stated, "Eggman found a way to utilize Chaos Control, and go to other dimensions. And he came here looking for power…a power only found here, only found in legend…"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loud sirens went off as Dr. Eggman's headquarters was being infiltrated. Gates were being shut, and robots were activating to negate the intruder's entry. They prepared their weapons and began shooting at the one person who could enter this base. Someone who is too fast for them to catch up to. Someone who will stop Dr. Eggman no matter what happens.

Sonic the Hedgehog.

As the robots fired their missiles, Sonic ran through them as they exploded on contact of the steel-plated walls. Sonic came to a screeching halt as a group of gunner robots approached him. They fired their machine guns, but Sonic easily jumped over them and leapt onto one, causing it to explode. He stood in front of another, but leapt over to the one in front of it, causing it to shoot its ally down. Sonic then leapt onto one and directly into the final in a 1-2 fashion. As he landed, he continued his pursuit.

Tails piloted the Tornado over to the base from above, with Amy and Chris as passengers. Chris wore a pair of utility goggles that could see various things depending on the settings. His current setting was X-Ray, so he could see into the base to find an opening for Sonic to enter. He looked around until he saw a door with weaker metal than the walls of the base. "That door down there!" He shouted as he pointed down.

"Okay," Tails said, "Knuckles, Cream! There's your position!" Knuckles responded through his ear transmitter with "Roger." Cream held onto Cheese and got onto his back. "Better hold on tight." He said. Cream nodded. Knuckles leapt and threw his fists forward and his legs back. Air lifted his dreadlocks, and he began to glide. He flew all the way to the wall, punched into the metal with his pointed knuckles and began to climb. He reached the top, and Cream got off his back and went another direction. Knuckles punched the door, and it toppled over.

"The door is down." Knuckles said. "Okay," Tails said. "Big, now it's your turn!" Big set his lure out to cast in the direction of the door Knuckles destroyed. Only, Big's fishing rod was equipped with a wire line that Sonic could grind, and his lure had a titanium hook, so it wouldn't break with the weight of someone on the line. He pulled his rod back, threw it forward and the line latched onto the ledge where Knuckles climbed up. He reeled in his hook, and it latched onto the ledge easily. He reeled in just enough so the wire would be firm and straight. With positive fruition, he placed two fingers in his mouth and screeched an incredibly loud whistle.

"That's the signal!" Sonic said as he heard the whistle. He then began running in the direction of a small armored wall, where Big was waving out to him. He outran more missiles and destroyed even more gunners, and ran behind the wall. "Good to go, Mr. Sonic!" Big said as he gave thumbs up. Sonic returned the favor, and took a few steps backward, before running straight and jumping. More robots fired missiles at him, and his sneakers suddenly transformed. The soles were curving inward, as if cylindrical, and the shoes themselves became armored. He jumped onto the line, and began to grind atop it, still to fast to be hit by missile attacks. He jumped off, and his shoes transformed back into their original state. He proceeded through the opening.

"Sonic has successfully infiltrated Dr. Eggman's base." Chris said as he viewed Sonic's feat. "Now it's our turn!" Tails said, and drove the Tornado into another direction. As he flew, pods opened upon the walls and floors of the outer base and began shooting at him. Tails noticed this and began shooting at them, but only managed to pierce through their armor. "Amy!" Tails said, "I'm on it!" she replied. Then she pulled out her hammer and began twirling it in circles. Then she threw it and it began spinning on its own. It spiraled across the side of the Tornado and smashed through each turret, one by one. Then the hammer came back to Amy, who caught it on signal. "Never mess with my **Hammerang**!"

"Chris, still viewing the goggles, this time was on the heat setting. He looked around until he saw a great amount of heat in one spot, as if to form a checkered pattern.

"There's a laser grid guarding that door over there!" Chris said as he lifted the goggles. "Okay. Knuckles, Cream, it's your turn again!" Tails said. "We're on it, Tails!" he said as he followed Cream to the laser grid door. Cream then pulled out four small bombs shaped like the head of Omochao. She took two, and Cheese took the others. They placed them on each of the generators powering the grid. Cream handled the bottom, Cheese handled the top. Tails was piloting the Tornado far into the distance, and turned around and headed straight for the door. Cream pressed a button, and the four bombs exploded in unison. When the smoke cleared, the grid was off and Knuckles punched the door. This time, to no prevail.

"This door's stronger than the other one!" Knuckles said. "Got it!" Tails said. "Big!" he said, "I'm way ahead of ya!" Big replied from atop a watch tower, with a robot unconscious at the bottom. He threw his lure again, it latched onto the ledge above the door, and reeled in place. Only this time, he grabbed a wire glider made from a bicycle handle and gear. He placed it over the wire, and held the rod in place with a clamp, and glided over to the laser door. He landed on the entryway, pulled out the lure, pressed a button on it, causing the clamp to release and the rod itself to return to Big, as if automatically. Then, they both punched the door at the same time, this time, able to breach the door.

"All right, Tails!" Knuckles shouted out. "It's all clear!" Tails, who noticed his shining Signal at the tip of his pointed knuckles, stated "You got it! **Transforming NOW**!" and suddenly his Tornado plane began switching its parts and limbs to form the shape of a car. And, just as it landed upon the paneling, Knuckles, Cream and Big jumped onto the "**Crosswind**" as it sped into the base.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, a glider flew atop the base and landed on a heliport at the highest roof of Eggman's base. The glider was colored black and crimson, just like the hedgehog primarily piloting it. He had black fur with red stripes running across parts of his body. He wore gloves with glowing golden bracelets on both his wrists and ankles. They seemed to give him fantastic power. He also wore shoes with holes on their soles. It looked as though they could allow him to hover by shooting air. Aside him was a bat with a heart-shaped symbol covering her rather large breasts, and wore a tight spandex suit and white boots with similar hearts on their toes. She also wore gloves, since her wings were on her back. There was a third member of this crew. A large combat robot with red eyes under his yellow helmet. His armor was colored red and black, and he was very broad in figure. His forearms were large and the wrists were spiked. In the forearms were large hands with spiked fingers. His shoulders were square-shaped, and on the left shoulder was a red painted Greek symbol "Omega."

"All right, Doctor," the hedgehog said, "Let's get this over with."

The bat leapt forward with magnificent grace, and placed a bomb on the door that lead to the heliport. She leapt back, and the door exploded.

"Sensors indicate that Eggman is just up ahead." Said the Robot. "There is also indication that the door was not very stable. Wouldn't it just have been easier to open the door?"

"Well, knowing Eggman," said the bat, "he probably prefers to keep all doors locked." She then looked aside in awe. "He probably doesn't like simple guests."

"Nonetheless," the hedgehog said, "we should just proceed as quickly as possible." Then he closed his eyes and said, "Sonic, you'd better save some for me."

They proceeded through the door and continued their mission…whatever that was…

XXXXX

"Finally!" Dr. Eggman said, "My plan is coming to fruition!"

"You are brilliant, Doctor!" a gold robot with a tall head said.

"Yes, indeedy, Doctor!" said the shorter, silver one, "Those punks won't know what hit them!"

"Indeed, this plan shall proceed as we had hoped!" Dr. Eggman said. "All I had to do was steal that kid's technology to utilize Chaos Control, and build it into my own! But frankly, my machine still requires Chaos Emeralds to function just right. Oh well! At least I got them!" He said as looked over at a Machine that seemed to be shaped like a large ring with an ascension platform at the bottom. Next to it was a generator with seven gems placed in it. These were the Chaos Emeralds, and were each colored differently: Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Aqua and White.

"But Doctor, you only need at least one Chaos Emerald to be able to travel great distances." The gold robot said.

"I know that, Decoe!" the Doctor said. "But it's even more fun when I have them gathered together!"

"You also placed another special machine part inside of it so that you could travel through dimensions as well as planets!" the silver robot said.

"That is because, Bocoe" he replied, "In one specific dimension, there is certain boy who holds power within him that is as great as all seven Chaos Emeralds combined! I owe it to my trusty new computer upgrade!"

Eggman walked over to the generator and began to turn on the power switch, until…

"Doctor, Doctor!" Cried out a small, dark blue robot with red boots, beady yellow eyes, a rocket on his back and pouch over his shoulder entered the room. "I brought the girls to the see the new Chaos Control thingy, just like you asked!"

"Hi, Doctor!" they said in a cheerful, sing-songy tone of voice!

"E-106-Eta," said the left, "and E-107-Theta," said the right, and in unison, they said, "Reporting for duty!" They saluted with opposing hands.

"Ah, my remarkable twin androids!" remarked Eggman, "What a pleasure to see you here!"

"Oh, Doctor!" Eta said, "We wouldn't miss your inter-dimensional conquest," said Theta.

"For the world!" they said in unison, and then giggled.

"Well, you won't have to, girls!" he said, "My intruder alarm tells me our guest of honor, and his friends will be arriving here…"

"Hold it right there!" shouted Sonic.

"Just in time!"

Then, the Crosswind pulled into the room, and all its passengers jumped out, and positioned themselves for battle.

"You stole my technology!" shouted Chris, "We're gonna see to it that it doesn't activate!" Sonic stood in position, and said, "The game's up, Eggman!"

"Not quite, Sonic!" shouted Eggman, and pointed at him. "Eta! Theta! Attack!"

Just then, the two girls jumped high into the air and performed a somersault motion. Then, they landed in front of Eggman, side by side in martial arts fighting positions.

"If you think they can stop us," Sonic said as Knuckles jumped next to him and said, "You're not thinking hard enough!"

"Don't underestimate your enemies!" said the two girls.

"Well, show us what you can do besides cartwheels!" Sonic said.

"Gladly!" they shouted.

Then they rushed towards Sonic with great agility, and punched their opponents square in the faces. They flew back, but quickly rebounded with a mid air back flip. "Wow!" said Sonic as he rubbed his cheek, "You're pretty tough," They nodded. "for a couple'a girls!" Then they glared at him, and continued. But this time, Sonic countered by leaping in the air and performing a spin kick. This hit Eta back.

Knuckles locked hands with Theta, and proceeded to throw her back, and vice versa. But both fighters' grips were to tight, so they only spun in circles.

"Aw," she said flirtatiously, "You're holding my hands and dancing with me." She then giggled. "Would you like to have dinner and a movie sometime?" Knuckles responded with, "Sorry, I don't go out with robots!" He then succeeded in throwing her back to Eggman.

Both got back up and prepared to engage yet again, but suddenly there was an explosion in the celing. Everyone looked up, and a hedgehog, a bat and a robot appeared from above it.

"Hey there, Sonic," he said with a grin on his face, "Long time no see!"

"Glad you could make it, Shadow!" Sonic replied.

"I see you brought Rouge and Omega, as well!" scoffed Knuckles.

"A simple 'hello' would suffice." Rouge replied, rather impatiently.

"Cease Discussion!" Omega hesitated. "Must engage Convict!"

"Right." Shadow said nonchalantly, "Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik!" He said in an accusing tone of voice. "On behalf of the Guardian Unit of Nations, you are hereby under arrest!"

"For theft, plagiarism, and yet another Attempt at world conquest," Rouge stated commandingly, "we've come to stop your plan!"

"And the protocol required for this global terrorism," Omega continued, "is immediate capture and imprisonment for the following decade!"

"Great!" said Eta, "More rats!" said Theta.

"You know what they say, the more the merrier!" Eggman said as he activated his machine, and the girls proceeded after Shadow's team. Shadow's team reacted by leaping forward, save for Omega, who switched his hands to machine guns. Shadow and Rouge kicked their opponents, who were easily hit by them. They landed back at Eggman on their feet, but leapt this time, to avoid the bullets shot by Omega. Shadow shot a Chaos Spear at Eggman, who was still in front of the generator. He ran away just in time for the spear to hit the generator.

Everyone quickly turned to the machine, which was reacting very strangely to the Chaos Spear. "Oh, crap…" said Eggman, nervously. It was pulsating with electricity, and then suddenly it began flashing. "This is not good…" Shadow said.

"It's inducing Chaos Control!" shouted Chris, who ran over to the machine to find out exactly what was wrong. As he got too close, the light shone brighter. "We're all gonna be warped out of this place!" he shouted as he ran over to Decoe. "What is the name of the place you plan to transport to?!" He asked demandingly. "I-I-It's a country in another dimension," Decoe replied nervously, "called the Land of Fire!"

"Brace yourselves, everybody!" Eggman shouted, "It's gonna blow!"

Soon the entire room was enveloped in the flash. It continued until the entire base was enveloped in the light. When the light faded, everyone in Dr. Eggman's base was gone.

When Sonic awoke, he laid on the ground for about ten seconds before quickly jumping up, realizing he was knocked out during Chaos Control. He had found himself in a grassy meadow somewhere. "Tails?" he called out, hoping to get an answer. But it was only an echo. "Amy?" he tried again. "Chris! Knuckles! Big! Cream!" Only echoes replied. He looked down in despair, and realized he was by himself. "I guess we got separated…"

Then he looked back up, and took a breath of the whole new world he was in. Blue skies, fresh grass, a gentle breeze. Not exactly what he had in mind when he heard "Land of Fire." He looked around, and back into the distance. He had a firm look on his face, and said, "Guess I gotta start lookin'!" Then he picked up his feet, and ran into the direction of civilization.

XXXXX

"I figued Shadow, Rouge and Omega could take care of themselves," Sonic said as he finished explaining his story, "but if I were to defeat Eggman, I had to get my entire group back together." He looked back at them and said, "And that's why you find us here today." Most of the shinobi in the room were intrigued, while the same three Genin were dumbfounded.

"That is an impressive story." Tsunade said, as if to believe him. "But-"

"THAT WAS AWESOME!!!" Naruto shouted. He however was completely ecstatic about the whole idea. "OH MY GOD, WERE YOU EXCITED WHEN SONIC 'GRINDED' ON THAT FISHING POLE?!?"

So were the other two naïve children. "YEAH!!" Kiba screamed. "OR WHEN THEY FOUGHT THOSE TWO GIRLS, AND WERE FREAKIN' EQUALLY MATCHED?!?" Lee then said, "THIS GUY SONIC LIVES A FABULOUSLY AWESOME LIFE! THOUGH HIS FEATS OF ACTION IN THE FACE OF DANGER IS _STILL_ NOT COMPARABLE TO GUY-SENSEI!!!"

Sonic's group was completely dumbfounded by the Genin's favor, who were instantly smacked upside their heads by their respective senseis. Tsunade pulled her pinky finger out of her left ear, and turned back to Sonic.

"But our village has had recent uproars besides Dr. Eggman's attack, and we are now at a rather weakened state, because of it."

"Well, we're more than willing to help out with the town's reconstruction, as well as its defense." Sonic said with a promising Thumbs up. Tsunade looked into his eyes and smile, and realized the sense of justice within him. The same that Naruto & Sakura have…the same that Nawaki & Dan had…then she smiled and nodded her head.

"We are willing," Sonic said as Sonic's companions walked up next to him and smiled, "to stick around as long as we need to, at least until we find out what Eggman's up to, how we can stop him, and find out how we can get back to our own dimension."

"Then it is settled." Tsunade said as she stood up. "Sonic! Tails! Amy! Knuckles! Chris! Cream! Big!" as she called each of their names, they stood in a military stance. "As of today, for your arrival in the face of danger, and compassion for those who inhabit this fine town," she then saluted, "you are official members of the Hidden Leaf Village of Konoha!" They saluted back to her in unison.

"You will follow my rules and participate in missions to support the city!" She sat back down. "Whenever you are required, it would be in the village's best wishes if you accept the tasks that are given." They nodded, and she said, "You are also free to participate in the village's activities, festivities, and overall merriment." They nodded. "We thank you yet again, and would like you to help out as much as you can."

"You are now dismissed." She finally said, and they all turned around.

"Sweet!" Sonic said, "I wonder what they got to eat around here?"

"Y'know…" Amy said to Sonic, "I'm still gonna get you for that sexist comment."

"Whaddya mean?"

"When you were fighting Eta!"

"I'm gonna get straight to work on rebuilding those houses and apartments that were destroyed." Tails said with resolve. "I'll help you with that." Chris said.

As the shinobi in the room proceeded to exit, Shikamaru, Neji and Asuma exited the room, but just as Naruto, Kiba and Neji were about to…

"Ahem!" spurted the annoyed Hokage. They turned around. "And where do you three think you are going?"

"We're going off to help the village's repairs." Kiba said as if trying to act innocent.

"Not just yet you aren't." Tsunade said as Kakashi, Kurenai and Guy approached each of their students with faces cold as stone and glares harp as daggers. "I respect your arrival during an emergency and your dedication to the village, but don't think I haven't forgotten about our little hot spring intrusion." After saying this, their eyes each bugged out.

"Crap! I was hoping you'd forget!" Naruto whined.

"Good thing I didn't." Tsunade replied with a smirk. "As for your punishment, I'll let your senseis decide that." They turned to their instructors behind them. They were still unimpressed by this. "Oh, and make it a good one, too, you three."

"Yes, Ma'am!" they all said in unison, with joyous expressions on their faces.

"You won't get away with this, you old hag!" Naruto shouted.

"Kakashi, double his punishment."

"You got it." Kakashi replied.

"DAMMIT!"

"Triple the punishment."


	3. Lazy Days in the Village

Chapter 3: Lazy Days in the Village

The inhabitants of Konoha decided to take the next few days as an opportunity to rest and relax, since, thanks to the new, friendly visitors, managed to get it done faster. Sonic's crew took the liberty to act as tourists within the village, and enjoy whatever sights there were in town, even though it was only a simple village. Sonic, usually not one for being cooped up inside walls, roamed around outside the village to see whatever sights there were everywhere else in this Dimension. Tsunade was often annoyed by his pluck and overall free spirit, but rubbed it off, however, since nobody else minded. After all, what good is speed, if he can't use it anywhere besides here? Everyone had also taken the opportunity to get to know their heroes.

The three Genin who peeped in on Tsunade, however, were taking this opportunity to face a harsh punishment for their actions. They each received a different punishment from their senseis, since Tsunade allowed them to decide.

XXXXX

Naruto was forced to clean every single window in the village, as well as Graffiti on walls anywhere else in town. "Remember, Naruto. Spotless." Kakashi snidely remarked as he was reading his usual series of books. Naruto growled at him as he scrubbed a window he worked on, while standing on the wall with his Chakra Control.

"Hey, Naruto!" called a familiar voice as the user showed up faster than Kakashi could count to one.

"Oh, hello, Sonic." Kakashi simply said. "You'll have to forgive me, Naruto's a little busy right now."

"Oh, okay." Sonic replied, "I went to that little Ramen shop a few seconds ago, and I talked to the guys who worked there." Naruto noticed this remark, "They told me that you were their Absolute Favorite Customer." Naruto turned around.

"Did you have any of the Ramen?" Naruto asked.

"Nah." Sonic said, "I wanted to have some with you, since they knew you meant well." Naruto smiled. "I know you do." He smiled even more. "So, would 'ya like a little help with those windows?" He offered. "No thanks." Naruto said to Kakashi's surprise. "A job's never fun when it's too easy, y'know?" Sonic smiled and replied, "I know what 'ya mean!"

"Well, see ya around!" Sonic then ran back in the opposite direction.

"Well, Naruto," Kakashi said, "hat was unusually generous of you." Naruto turned to him and said, "I guess he kinda reminds me of myself." Kakashi's eyes widened, if not only slightly. "He's got a good sense of justice. He's kind to people, he's very strong, and he never goes back on his word."

"Not to mention, there's a Similar Attitude within you two," Kakashi joked, earning him a dirty look. But deep down, he knew that Naruto and Sonic were exactly alike in many ways. If there were an expression under that mask of his, he would be smiling.

XXXXX

Kiba's punishment was a little more demeaning. He had to give Kurenai a full fledged spa treatment, the whole time while she's wearing absolutely nothing. Since he enjoyed seeing Tsunade nude, she decided to make it harder on him. If he were to stare at her naked body at all, she would increase the amount of Pushups he had to afterwards by ten. His starting limit was 100.

"There's nothing like a good body massage to ease my worries…" she said as she took a deep breath. "Wouldn't you agree, Kiba?" she asked her student with a grin. Kiba groaned.

Then, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Kurenai called out. "Sakura, Ino, Tenten and Amy entered the door, each wearing Bathrobes and brought shower towels. "Is this the Spa treatment clinic?" Sakura asked. "Why yes it is." She replied snidely, while Kiba's jaw dropped. "K-Kurenai-Sensei! You never said anything about-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" she interrupted, "Less talky, more Rubby!" she said as she laid back down. Kiba's groan was longer this time.

XXXXX

Lee was more accepting of his Punishment, for he was accepting it from his favorite Sensei, his own sensei, Guy-Sensei. Lee was to walk one Thousand laps across the Track on his hands. Lee also saw this as an opportunity to train in his skills.

"Remember, Lee!" Guy said, "A Thousand laps! No breaks!"

"Yes, Guy-Sensei!" Lee said admiringly, while working on his Fiftieth lap.

Tails and Chris were watching this with Neji, Lee's teammate, and were also discussing the situation.

"Lee must really admire Guy-Sensei." Chris said.

"Yes," Neji said, "Lee's greatest wish is to become a Fabulous Ninja with only the use of Taijutsu, just like Guy."

"How is Taijutsu different from Ninjutsu?" Tails asked curiously.

"Taijutsu is the Ninja Art of Fighting Hand-to-Hand." Neji replied.

"But why just Taijutsu?" Chris also asked.

"Lee could never mold Chakra, no matter how much he tried." Neji said, disappointingly, "One day, he met Guy-Sensei, when he, Tenten and I were assigned a team under his rule." His expression turned to one of satisfaction, "He really looks up to Guy-Sensei. He is capable of executing various techniques with only the use of Taijutsu, and looked upon Lee as someone who could surpass him one day." Neji smiled. "I once mocked him for his abilities, since he's not able to defeat me just yet."

"You made fun of him for that?" Chris asked accusingly. "That wasn't very nice of you!"

"I was a different person then." Neji sulked. "But now, I see him as an acceptable rival in skill."

"Wow…" Tails said in awe. "I guess that admiration is why he dresses just like him." Tails looked at Lee, then Guy again. "They look exactly alike!"

"They act just as alike." Neji replied with a sigh. "That's very annoying and Embarrassing."

"Lap Three-Hundred-Seventy-Four, Guy-Sensei!" Lee called out, causing Chris and Tails to react in awe.

"374?!" They rhetorically asked in unison. "He's Impressive!" Chris said, "He did all of that while we were Talking!" Tails said. "I barely even noticed him!"

Neji sighed.

"What can you tell us about yourself, Neji?" Tails asked.

"My clan is efficient in using an Eye technique called **Byakugan**." he began. "We also specialize in a fighting style that can seal a Chakra hole, or any of them, in fact."

Chris pondered and asked, "Where are Chakra Holes Located?"

"Everywhere."

Tails blinked to this.

"But you can't see them. We can using our technique, and we can seal them by strking them."

"That's incredible!" Tails said.

"You wouldn't think that if I were actually trying to hurt you." Neji frowned. "We can also damage internal organs with that style."

Chris and Tails held their stomachs and gulped.

"Relax." he reassured, "I won't harm anyone with that...not like I did once..."

"Who were you trying to hurt?"

"My cousin, Hinata."

Chris and Tails gasped.

"Our fathers are twins that ran different branches of the family." he explained, "Hinata was of the higher branch, which was resented, because the lower branch members were given restraint marks to hold us down if we try anything hasty...including..." he removed his Headband, revealing a green mark shaped like an X between two lines, "Myself."

They frowned in sympathy, before Chris accusingly said, "That doesn't give you the right to try to hurt the poor girl!"

"I thought things happened for a reason," Neji continued, putting his band back on, "I believed that destinies were decided when people are born. I thought it was my father's destiny to die being forced to impersonate my uncle." They gasped. "I hated the higher branch, and never knew happiness. During the Chunin exam, I was pit against Hinata, and saw my chance to take out that treacherous cousin of mine..."

Tails barked, "That's horrible! It's not like Hinata killed your father!"

"Nor was it to be forced, I found out after I lost to Naruto in the exam."

They blinked.

"I found out he gave his life willingly because he loved his brother. I realized that people can have freedom if they wanted." they smiled, "I owe it all to him, Naruto Uzumaki, for saving me when I was lost in the darkness. His desire never to quit saved me from myself that day."

"Everyone seems to admire him." Tails said, "He is very kind."

"He has made many friends since he first became a Ninja." Neji said, "He's had a sufferable past, and was able to come through it when he was accepted. That is why we shall guard him from Dr. Eggman with our lives. It is why you must, as well."

Tails and Chris nodded, but their attention turned to...

"I did it Guy-Sensei! I completed every last lap!"

"Excellent, Lee!" Guy congratulated, "You are indeed a special kid!" he said with exaggerated tears and hugged his student.

"Guy-Sensei!" Lee sobbed as fireworks came out of nowhere.

The three spectators were stunned and shocked.

"This guy is so unreal..." Chris thought.

"He did every lap while we were talking..." Tails.

"Don't embarrass me, Lee..." Neji.

"This calls for a Celebration!" Guy shouted and pointed to the Spectators, "Neji! Chris! Tails!" This got their attention. "You wanna go spread the good news to everybody?"

"Sure thing Guy-Sensei!" they all said, only Neji's was less amused than the other two.

XXXXX

Shikamaru and Asuma played a friendly game of Shogi against each other, while Big fished in the Large Koi Pond in Asuma's backyard. Shikamaru couldn't help but notice Big's Laid-back nature. He smiled and went over to talk to him.

"So, you like that Koi Pond, Big?" Asuma asked, "Kurenai gave it to me as a Birthday Present.

"It's nice and peaceful." Big said. "Plus, all the cute little Koi fish are more than willing to come to my Lure!" On that note, a fish then grabbed his lure, he reeled it in, caught it, and released it back into the Pond.

"You are indeed very kind." Asuma said, and Shikamaru nodded. "You're a cat, and a Fisherman, yet you don't eat fish." Shikamaru said, "Kind strikes me as odd…" Big turned and said, "Of course! They're animals, just like us! I don't wanna hurt the little guys." They both smiled.

Shikamaru went back to their Shogi game, and both Big and Asuma followed this time. Shikamaru knelt into his plotting position, and touched his fingers together. When he came to, he picked up one piece, and put Asuma into a checkmate. Asuma then set the board up for another round. "Wow, Shikamaru!" Big said in awe. "You're pretty smart."

"I wish I could say the same about you." Shikamaru jokingly said.

"Oh, but you can!" Big replied, making Shikamaru and Asuma raise their eyebrows. "For instance, the Square Route of 144 is 12, Abraham Lincoln was the Sixteenth President of the United States of America, and it takes Approximately 252 licks to get to the Center of a Tootsie Pop!"

"Yep," Shikamaru said, "That's right on the Mark." Asuma agreed, "Good thing our Viewers' Influence rubbed off on us." If you could see his face, he would be winking at you.

"You also look pretty strong." Asuma said, "How did you get so big? (No pun intended)" Big went back to his Fishing Rod and said "This size is simply genetic. I'm a Vegetarian, and I love to drink a Fresh Vanilla Protein Shake every morning." Big laid on his back, then said, "But you know what? I just love to lie down and watch the Clouds go by." Shikamaru laid down next to him. "That's yet another thing we have in common."

"I don't usually like to do a whole lot of work. Whether it's fighting, or chores or paperwork, I hate doing it." Shikamaru said as even more clouds passed by. "But the village's standards come first, and if there's ever anyone in danger, or someone we need to confront, I'll see to it that my comrades make it out okay." Then he began to fret, "Like I almost failed to one time." Big turned over to him and put a hand over his shoulder. "You're a great leader, Shikamaru." He said, "Everyone will look up to you no matter what goes wrong." They both sat up and smiled. "Y'know, Big?" Shikamarusaid, "its kind words like that which make me proud to wear this vest," he placed a hand over his Chunin Vest.

"Thanks."

"No Problem."

Asuma smiled and more Clouds passed by.

XXXXX

Knuckles was sparring in the Akiamichi Training Grounds with Choji, since Knuckles always looks for a challenge. Knuckles threw a few Punches at Choji, who was easily able to dodge them until he got hit by the last one. He fell back, but recovered with a Back flip, and Rolled at Knuckles with his "**Expansion Jutsu** and **Human Boulder Jutsu**!" Knuckles managed to block his Rolling with his Open fists. Choji was pushing back at him with full force. Knuckles managed to pick him up with the full force of his Strength, and threw him into the lone tree in this area, since he knew breaking the walls would be a huge problem.

Choji reverted from his Jutsu, and Knuckles walked up to him and said, "You ready to quit yet?" to which Choji replied, "Not quite! **Semi-Expansion Jutsu**!" and threw fis Arm out at him, which grew to a long and massive extent. Knuckles was grabbed by his hand and slammed to the ground. Choji grinned, until Knuckles came from underneath his fist and lifted it until Choji himself lifted off the ground and threw him over his shoulder, where he landed on the ground and his Jutsu reverted.

"I can't believe I lost!" Choji shouted. Knuckles lent his hand to him offering him a lift onto his feet.

"You were pretty impressive, Choji!" Knuckles congratulated.

"I'm nowhere near as strong as you, though…" he replied in a sulk.

"That's a bunch of bull, kid."

Choji looked at knuckles.

"Any single person who can lift _me_ off the ground or force me about three feet behind myself is a Strong rival in my book!"

"I just wish someone would acknowledge that…" he continued to sulk.

"I'm sure there's someone who does, Right?" Knuckles raised an eyebrow.

"There is one person." He looked back.

Knuckles looked intent on knowing who it was.

"Shikamaru, my teammate."

"You mean that kid with the Spiky hair tail and the big green Vest?"

Choji nodded.

"Well, good thing, too!" Knuckles said exuberantly, "Anyone who can see past your chubby figure and your constant munching on Potato Chips would become a true friend to you!" Choji smiled, "I may have beaten you, but I admit I was impressed by your strength." He held his hand out to Choji. "As of today, you and I are Rivals." Choji let a huge grin grow on his face, and shook Knuckles hand rather roughly. "Indeed, we are, Knuckles!"

"Knuckles!" called a Familiar young voice.

"Tails! What brings you here?" Knuckles asked as he flew in.

"Guy-Sensei's throwing a huge Barbeque in honor of Lee completing his Punishment/Training! Would you like to come?"

"Sure!" Knuckles said. "You wanna come, Choji?"

"Sure!"

XXXXX

Back at Kurenai's house, Kiba set up a Sauna in her Master Bathroom so that Kurenai, Sakura, Amy, Ino and Tenten could relax in the Steam. Kiba stripped down to his birthday suit and put on a towel over his lower half, not so he could peep in on the girls, but so he could get to know their Guest of Honor, Amy. Kurenai never said anything against conversation, so she allowed it. Akamaru sat on top of his head and panted, both in happiness and exhaustion from the heat.

"So, Amy, what exactly can you tell us about yourself?" Kurenai started.

"I usually like to go shopping, mostly for shoes, clothes and to keep bread on the table." Ino and Sakura nodded in agreement while Kiba and Kurenai sighed. "But that's only when I'm not out to chase the love of my life, Sonic!" They blinked to this.

"Well, Sonic must be very happy to have you at his side!" Ino complimented.

"Oh, he's just shy!" Amy continued. "He always plays hard-to-get with me, but I know in my heart that he'll accept me one day or another."

"You sound a lot like Ino and me!" Sakura said, "And your wardrobe looks a whole lot like mine!"

"Do you have a special boyfriend?" Amy asked in curiosity.

In response, Sakura sulked her head down, giving an image of a storm cloud above it. She looked very depressed.

"So, Amy!" Kiba said to change the subject, "I noticed that your friend Cream never leaves her little friend Cheese from her side!"

"That is true!" Amy said, "And although she doesn't like to fight, Cream and Cheese are fabulous Tag-team warriors!"

"That kinda reminds me of my own relationship with Akamaru, here." Kiba said, pointing to the puppy on his head.

"Bark, Bark!"

"We've been together our entire Lifetime, and haven't grown apart ever since!" Kiba brought Akamaru to his side and patted him on the head. "Akamaru is a Nin-ken, or Ninja Dog. We use similar techniques to bust through our enemies, and are as fierce as a wolf in Battle!"

"Wow! That's impressive!" Amy said, "I bet Cream would be very happy to know that!"

Kurenai smiled and finally spoke, "Kiba."

He looked at her, "Yes, Kurenai-Sensei?"

"I think you've been punished long enough. You're free to go if you wish."

"I'd love to, but…"

"hn?'

"I'd like to stick around here for a while." He said as he stretched his legs forward.

Tenten, who was unusually silent, spoke up. "So, Amy!" Amy looked back. "I couldn't help but notice you have a weapon!"

Amy nodded.

"Well, I have several!"

XXXXX

Cream was walking through the park with Shino and Hinata. Hinata spoke more often than she usually did and Cream was able to make good conversation with her. Despite the Aura that Shino usually gives, Cream wasn't troubled by his presence. Hinata was fine with him, of course, because they're teammates.

"Everyone seems to say that you're rather scary, Shino." Cream said. "But I don't think you're such a bad guy." Cheese said "Chao, Chao!"

"Well, Shino doesn't always make open conversation with people." Said Hinata. "We don't usually ever get to see his eyes, either."

"My clan is consistent of Insect Commanders." Shino said. "We host them within ourselves so we can command them to our beck and call." Shino summoned some beetles to his hand from his sleeve. "But they are indeed noble creatures. We never harmed them, and so they give us their loyalty and aid."

"Bugs are animals just Sonic and the rest of us!" Cream happily exclaimed.

"Chao, Chao, Chao!"

"Even humans, like us are animals," Hinata said, "theoretically speaking."

"That is indeed true." Shino said.

As they passed a fountain, Hinata brought up another subject. "So, Cream, what exactly is the story between you and Cheese?"

"Well, we met each other one day," Cream said, "and we've been best friends ever since!" Cheese hugged Cream and said, "Chao!" Hinata smiled at her and said, "Cheese is very cute!" Cheese then proceeded to hug Hinata, cheering while doing so. "I don't really like to fight…" Cream said, "But Cheese and I can attack in unison most of the time. It's only when we really have to…"

"Hinata doesn't like to fight much either." Said Shino. "Nor does she like to feel useless." Cream looked at him, while Hinata sulked. "Kiba and I trained with her day in and day out, so she could increase her skill." Cream began to fill with intrigue, and Hinata smiled and blushed. "Her Family trait, or what we call Kekkei Genkai, called **Byakugan**, allows her to see various things in great distances. She can even see into people to study their level of Chakra." Cream was awed. "She had grown stronger thanks to our training."

"Wow! That's Amazing Hinata!"

"Chao, Chao!"

Hinata blushed and twiddled her fingers. "I developed my own technique thanks to that."

"On a side note," Shino said, gaining Cream's attention. "Your relationship with Cheese reminds me of that of Kiba & Akamaru.

"Do you think so?" Cream responded.

Shino nodded. "Kiba has been with Akamaru all his life, and they have always fought alongside each other." Cream awed again. "They truly are the best of friends."

"That's sweet!" Cream said.

"We had…another pair of best friends…in this Village once." Hinata said, going back to her usual loss of words.

"Who were they?"

"One is still with us." Shino said. "The other…left our Village, recently."

"Who are they?"

"Chao?"

"His name was Sasuke Uchiha." He said, "And the other is-"

"N-Naruto!" Hinata said.

XXXXX

Naruto had finished his Chore Punishment and came to the Park looking for Sonic. Naruto had a strong understanding for him and wanted to accept his offer to have Ramen. He considered using Shadow Clones to get the job done faster, but thought against it. Unusual as it seems, he had a true understanding for Sonic, and wanted to get to know him better. The truth is, Kakashi let him off the hook for his Model Behavior and proceeded to finish it himself. Tsunade would surely chew him out for it, but he would take it like a man, or in an analogy case, take it like a meal.

"Hey, You Guys!" He called out, jumpy as ever.

"Good to see you, Naruto." Shino said, "What brings you here?"

"I was just looking for Sonic!" Naruto said. "I wanted to take him out to Ramen, tonight." He turned over to his right. "Oh, hay Hinata." Hinata gulped, and quietly said, "H-h-h-hi, N-N-N-Naruto…" Naruto looked confused. "Hey, Hinata…You're shivering." He then walked up to her and felt her forehead. "And your read and sweating…Do you have a fever, or a Cold, perhaps?" She began to shudder as he walked closer to her.

"What's wrong with Hinata?" Cream said with worry. "Chao…"

Shino then knelt over to lift her ear and whisper something into it.

"Oh…" they said, while Cheese said his species name in rhythm. "It's kind of cute, actually."

"Hinata?" called a Familiar voice, to which she uncontrollably shouted "YES?!" in Naruto's ear, which caused him to fall over and faint.

"Hinata, I wanted to ask you something," said Neji, before his attention turned to Naruto passed out on the ground. "What's wrong with him?" He asked nonchalantly, "I guess the cat got his tounge." Cream replied. "Anyway, Hinata, I wanted to ask you something." Hinata nodded in response. "Guy-Sensei is having a Barbeque to celebrate Lee's completion of his Punishment." Hinata was impressed, Cream was excited, Shino was intrigued, and Cheese had finally slapped Naruto awake.

"Bushy-Brows has his own Barbeque?!"

"Welcome back." He replied Nonchalantly, "Actually, it's also in dedication to your Model behavior as well as Kiba's." They all raised eyebrows. "You have Kakashi-Sensei and Kurenai-Sensei to thank for that." Naruto grinned, and thought in his head, "Kakashi-Sensei, I _really_ owe you one, Now!" Neji, not willing to waste anymore time, said, "Well, let's go." But Naruto remembered, "Oh, Have you seen Sonic around here?" Neji turned around, "Lady Tsunade has signaled Sonic to return. He will arrive before Nightfall." Naruto sighed in relief, and they proceeded onward.

XXXXX

"There we go." Tsunade said as she just sent a Messenger Hawk to the Hidden Village of Sand to notify them of Dr. Eggman's arrival, and to warn them that he's dangerous. They also included the details of Eggman's ship, which was called the Egg Carrier, as well as his Egg Mobile.

"Are you certain they'll be properly prepared?" asked a certain Copy-Nin. "They've lost their Kazekage in Orochimaru's Coup as well." Tsunade frowned and softly said, "I'm aware of that." Then she took a deep breath and said, "But if he's Dangerous, here, he's Dangerous anywhere. Plus, they've got strong resourceful people within their border." Kakashi nodded. "I guess you're right." Then, he pulled out a Kunai and slit his thumb. "One important thing we should take note of, is that we don't know where Dr. Eggman is hiding." Then he started forming Signs with his hands. "So, we'll just have to find it." Then he pressed his palm onto the Floor performing a "**Summoning Jutsu**!" A Cloud of smoke appeared and from it came Eight Perfectly Friendly and Familiar Ninja Dogs.

"All right, boys, Listen up!" On that note, they huddled into a Military lineup. "There is a new Enemy on the loose out there, by the name of Dr. Eggman." He then reached into his Pocket and pulled out a Metal Plate. "This is from one of his Creations. Find this scent, and you'll find him." Pakkun, the smallest of them said, "You know it's a new day when you're asked to track down some random criminal from the blue." He continued as snidely, "What is he, an escaped Convict?" Kakashi impatiently said, find the scent, and I'll explain later." He then placed the plate in front of them, so they can sniff it, and track Eggman's scent. "All right. You know what to do." They nodded, and Kakashi signaled with "**Scatter**!" They exited the door, and proceeded to find him.

"Kakashi," Shizune asked from aside Tsunade's desk, "How did you obtain that piece?" Kakashi turned, "It fell off of one of one of his Robots. I thought ahead, and maybe it could lead us to him." Tsunade smirked. "Smooth thinking there, Kakashi."

"Hey!" called the familiar voice they waited for. He stood at the entrance.

"Who let the Dogs Out?"

XXXXX

Later that afternoon, Might Guy was performing his Barbeque just as they had intended. Some were embarrassed by his overreaction, but lived it up nonetheless. They each proceeded in their own activities. Cream played catch with Cheese Kiba and Akamaru, Amy, Ino and Sakura talked more about boys, Big was fishing with Shikamaru, both of which laid under the sunset, Guy wore a ridiculous apron that said "Kiss the Guy" on it while flipping Burgers and Hot Dogs, Kakashi prepared Chili to glaze them with, so Sonic could enjoy his favorite meal, Tails shot discs at Neji to practice his **Trigram** techniques, Chris did that equally with Hinata, who was making significant work of them, leaving Neji awestruck and dumbfounded, Kurenai, Asuma and Anko chatted the breeze, Tsunade tried to enjoy her usual Sake in hiding of Shizune, the worrywart/spoilsport, Tenten practiced with her several weapons with targets, Knuckles sparred with Choji and Lee, and most importantly, Naruto sat at the Ramen shop waiting for Sonic. He had been sitting there for almost an hour, before he felt ready to give up.

"Hey there!" said the exact voice he waited for.

"Sonic!" Naruto said as the Hedgehog took his seat. "I was wondering if you weren't going to make it."

"Sorry for being late. I just thought I'd bring someone along for the ride." He looked to his right, "And he should be quite important to you."

"Hey, there," said the beloved Scar-faced Academy Teacher, "Hope you're in the mood for Dinner for Three!"

Naruto smiled and giggled, "Not at all, Iruka-Sensei."

XXXXX

About an hour after they've been slurping noodles, they finally came to proper conversation.

"Oh, sweet!" Sonic said, 'Ramen is indeed delicious!" He continued to slurp even more, "The Ramen in my dimension is just cold juice compared to this stuff!"

"Hey, relax, Sonic!" Iruka said with a silly grin on his face, "If you don't pace yourself, you'll get indigestion, like Choji!"

"Aw, I don't mind, Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto chuckled, "This stuff _is_ the best in town." Iruka looked at Sonic, then back at Naruto, and saw a direct Match in personality. "I swear," He thought, "Sonic is his world's equivalent of Naruto."

"But," Sonic said, "This stuff is nothing compared to Chili Dogs!" Sonic's lucky that the Ramen Couple had left to join the festivities, or they would've taken harsh offense to that comment. "By the way, Iruka," Sonic said as he finished slurping the Broth, "Thanks for bringing me some of Kakashi and Guy's Chili Dogs!" I thought they didn't exist here…?" Iruka turned to his former student, "They do, Naruto's never eaten one, so he wouldn't know what they were." Naruto shot a dirty look at him.

But when they all had finished, something important came into Sonic's mind.

"Hey, Iruka." Both he and Naruto turned to him, "What's so important about Naruto that Eggman wants him so badly?" Iruka became concerning of his question, while Naruto looked depressed. "Eggman came her looking for power within him, right? I've seen him in action and I know he's pretty strong, but how will it help Eggman conquer the World?"

Iruka looked at Naruto whose face was buried in his jumpsuit sleeves, he realized that Eggman was indeed serious about capturing Naruto, so he took a deep breath and realized there was no point in hiding it anymore. Not from Sonic, someone he could compare to.

Thirteen Years ago, a Demon attacked our fair Village. It was a fierce monster that could rip an entire forest to shreds and burn a village to dust. It was called the Nine-Tailed Fox. Many people feared this beast. Many were killed by it. But only one was able to stand up to it, the leader of our village back then. The Fourth Hokage. He fought the Fox valiantly, but couldn't defeat it. He realized the only way to defeat it was to seal it away. So he performed a Powerful technique, one that only Advanced and Legendary Ninja could perform: **The Reaper Death Seal**. He managed to seal the beast away, but within a small boy, a baby to be precise. Before the Hokage died, he had one final wish: for the boy, Naruto Uzumaki, to be honored as a hero. That wish was not respected. They still feared the beast and avoided Naruto as if he were the monster himself. The Hokage before him took over and allowed him a home and education. Many of the yonger Ninja are unaware of Naruto's connection to the fox. But that is for the best, since the beast's sealing was kept secret when he turned six. But when he graduated from the Academy and became a Ninja, he developed a sense of humor and naughty nature, in order to be noticed. He also gained a special natural trait: Compassion and Wisdom of Awareness. He has made many friends over the recent years, and has proven his worth.

"If you've ever noticed," Iruka finished, "Naruto constantly remarks that he'll become Hokage one day." He turned back to Naruto, "He wants to remove himself from that past, so people will respect him. And he is being respected much more than he was before." Naruto looked up into the stars, and Sonic looked longingly at Naruto, sympathetic of his dark history. Sonic walked over to him and gave him a Thumbs up. Naruto looked down at him and smiled. He shook off his Sadness, and jumped to the street.

"Well, if that Egghead thinks he'll get his dirty paws on me, He's got a Hell of another think coming!" Then he jumped up to the Rooftops and Shouted out, "YOU HEAR THAT, EGGMAN?!? THE NEXT TIME WE MEET, YOU'RE TOAST!!"

"Hey, keep it down ya Stupid Kid!" shouted a random voice.

"Oops! Sorry!"

"Well, he's got his confidence back." Sonic said, "And don't you even worry about it, Iruka!" Sonic turned around and said, "When I see him, I see myself. And just like Naruto, I never go back on my word when I make a Promise!"

Iruka looked at him and smiled. "We really do have another Naruto in our Village."


	4. Monkey Business with Eggman

Chapter 4: Monkey Business with Eggman

During the Previous Night after the Barbeque, Tsunade had given out investigation missions regarding Dr. Eggman. Some proceeded directly, while others chose to rest for the night in preparation. The next Morning, Sonic had woken up at Five in the Morning to keep and Early Lookout. Being the free spirited Speed Freak that he is, he took the job blissfully and without even asking for it.

Tsunade, herself, was overwhelmed by the amount of Sake she drank, and fell asleep on her own desk. If anyone in the village were smart, they would _not_ wake her up in this condition. This would be most unfortunate for a particular Messenger to the good Doctor.

"Hahahaha!" Bokkun cackled as he proceeded through the dawn sky and entered the Village, so he could send a message to the Hokage specifically.

"Hey, Lady!" he yelled as he knocked on the window. "Rise and Shine, Sleepyhead! Dr. Eggman's got an important Message for ya!"

Tsunade continued to sleep, only turning another direction.

"Wake up, you groggy Lazybones!" His knocking continued, and with irritation in his voice. He huffed, and floated upwards. The next thing he knew, he was barging into Tsunade's Office unannounced.

"You Lazy Old HAG!!" He shouted over her head. "You're just a Lazy old Woman who sleeps during an important Announcement!! I couldn't possibly see how you became Hoka-GURK!"

That "gurk" was the sound of him choking as Tsunade didn't take even _half a second_ to ring her Intruder's neck.

"Excuse me, but don't think I heard you say 'enter'." She said as she slowly raised her head, showing her facial expression to be incredibly furious. Bokkun was too overcome with fear and lung pressure to reply.

XXXXX

As Sonic woke up from his quick nap, the first thing he heard was a loud Crashing noise. He quickly arose and heard another. "That's coming from Tsunade's Office!" he thought aloud as he quickly proceeded to the Hokage's room.

Within the Second, Sonic quickly arrived to the sight of Bokkun being manhandled by Tsunade. Sonic recognized the Messenger and said, "Bokkun!"

"Oh, Hi Sonic!" he said, laughing nervously. "Listen, can ya give me a hand here, ol' buddy, ol' pal?"

"Why should I help you?" Sonic replied interrogatively.

"I got a message from Dr. Eggman! Now please call her off! I'm too young to be Scrap Metal! Ahahaaa!!!!" he said as Tsunade approached him.

"So," she said calmly, "You're his Messenger, eh?"

XXXXX

Bokkun had finally calmed down, Tsunade was rid of her Hangover headache, and Sonic took the liberty of cleaning her office before Bokkun gave the message. He finished in exactly a Minute.

"All right, you," Tsunade scorned, "Spill it. What does Dr. Eggman want?"

"I got the message right here!" he said and then pulled out a small Television that instantly turned on. On its' screen was the image of Dr. Eggman's face.

"Greetings, Sonic and Lady Tsunade!" he said. "I just want you to know that I'm waiting here in the Forest near the Land of Water. At the very least, I would like Sonic to arrive. Oh, and Bring Naruto, as well." The screen quickly turned to a Countdown from Five. Sonic and Tsunade freaked out, while Bokkun laughed his usual laugh and said, "Bombs Away!" When the Timer hit Zero…

"BOOM!"

Tsunade and Sonic were covered in soot, and their clothes were tattered from the explosion. Their expressions were unimpressed. Bokkun tried to escape through the door…on foot.

"Ahem!" Tsunade huffed.

Bokkun turned around and said "Heh, Sorry! I guess my rocket was busted by that little beatdown you gave me…" Then Tsunade picked him up by the rocket and said, "Don't worry, sweetie. I know of a faster way to travel."

"Really?"

"BAM!" A loud punch threw Bokkun out the Window and into the distant forest. He screamed as he was flying so far, only a twinkle was left of his presence.

"Pretty incredible strength!" Sonic compliment nervously. "It even puts Knuckles power to shame."

"What's all the Commotion about?" the Copy-Nin asked he came with recent reports.

"Eggman wants us to head to the Land of Water." Sonic answered.

"Then I guess we found Dr. Eggman's base."

"Well, Actually,"

"Kakashi!" called a familiar Strong-nosed pug.

"Pakkun." He replied. "You've come back."

"And I've found Eggman!" the Dog barked.

"Great job, Pakkun." Kakashi said. "Now we can enter the base with no problems!"

"Uh…about that…" Pakkun said nervously, causing everybody to eye him.

"Let's just say that Eggman really needs to wash his hands when he builds those things…" he said followed by a nervous laugh.

Everyone sulked…

"He appears to be waiting on the border to the Land of Water with a really large reinforcement." Everyone looked with curiosity. "A Large Gorilla Robot, 'bout a hundred meters tall, by the look of it."

"Sonic! Wake up Shikamaru and Naruto and gather as many available Ninja as possible!" Sonic nodded. "Then head to that forest and stop that robot!" Sonic nodded and said "Got it!" before running out the door.

XXXXX

Shikamaru's mother wasn't particularly happy with her son allowing Big to stay in the house. She forced him to kick Big out, who proceeded with building a Log Cabin in the woods. Sonic got him and then went to Naruto's Apartment. Naruto was very groggy from sleeping, like he always is, but popped straight awake at the mention of Eggman. Knuckles was excited about being able to beat Eggman after a while. Tails was busy working on a very important project, so he couldn't come, but Chris' technical Know-how could still come in handy. Sakura was busy with Medical Lessons, so she couldn't come. Hinata was taking a nice morning stroll and was invited by Naruto for the Mission. They formed a Six-man team and headed for the Land of Water.

So, Sonic! What's the mission?" asked Chris, who was speeding across the hard dirt surface with his Roller Blades. Rockets were installed into them so he could keep up with Sonic and the Wheels were retractable.

"Eggman's got some kind of Robot at the Land of Water." Sonic replied. "We need to stop it before it can do any significant damage."

Chris pointed to the goggles on his forehead. The same goggles from when they infiltrated Dr. Eggman's base on Mobius. "Well, if it has any strengths and weaknesses, I can analyze them with this." Then he looked up, "Plus we've got Hinata's **Byakugan**."

Sonic turned around and gave a Thumbs up. "Eggman won't know what hit him!"

"So, Shikamaru," Knuckles said hesitantly as they leapt through the trees, "You got a plan to take down this scrap heap?"

Shikamaru simply responded with "I got nothing."

Knuckles blinked. "What?! I thought you were supposed to be the smart one!!"

Shikamaru turned his head, "I am. I just need a proper analysis of this thing before I can come up with a way to beat it."

Knuckles scoffed and said, "For the record, Eggman's just as smart as you are."

"Point taken." He said without looking. "Now shut up and wait until we get there!"

Knuckles growled.

"Um, Naruto?" Hinata peeped.

Naruto turned around.

"I just wanted…to thank you for…um…inviting me…"

"Heh," Naruto smiled. "Don't even worry about it." Then he leapt beck next to her, and said, "I at least wanted one of my good friends to see it when I beat that Eggman senseless!" Hinata smiled. "Plus, your abilities can help a lot with this mission."

Hinata blushed as Naruto leapt forward.

"What's the Analysis up there?" Chris called up to the trees. Naruto looked over at Hinata, who used her "**Byakugan**!" to scout the area. She looked across the endless sea of trees until she saw a large, fat body. She looked up, and its upper half towered over the trees, seeming to shape like a Gorilla.

"There it is!" she called out. "About Ten Meters ahead!"

"Thanks, Hinata!" Sonic called, as the group headed to tame this wild monkey.

XXXXX

"What's taking Bokkun so long?!" Eggman yelled, very frustratedly.

"Calm Down, Doctor!" Decoe worried. "Remember your Blood Pressure!"

"Yes!" agreed Bocoe, "Remember, their leader is inhumanly strong, so odds are, she kicked him right into the bucket."

"Well, it serves him right for being so damn overconfident all the time!!"

"Brother Bokkun was a cutey…" Eta lamented.

"But he was still a Major Pest." Theta remarked.

"Oh well." They said in unison, "The real headache around here is that jerk, Sonic!" They then looked at their Colossus aside the Egg mobile. "Our new friend can have some fun with him." The giagantic gorilla robot's eyes began to glow in response to that remark.

"He'd better have Brought that kid with him," Eggman growled, "or the Land of Water's gonna experience a really big Drought!"

XXXXX

"Do you see anything major about the Robot's strengths and weaknesses?" Sonic asked Chris, who was checking for just that with the Sensor setting of his Goggles. Good thing they were hiding in the trees, because that thing looked really tough. He looked around and noted the strengths and weaknesses of its Physical Exterior. "It appears that the strong points are its fists and feet," Chris explained, "while its weaknesses are the transmitter on its forehead, as well as the generators on its fists and its two breastplates." Naruto giggled and said, "Its' boobs are its weak spots, how original…" Hinata blushed and sweated on this, while Knuckles smacked him upside the head. Naruto rubbed his head and glared at him. "What? Only Sakura's entitled to that?!" he joking pleaded.

"Hinata," said Shikamaru, "Can you see what's powering this monkey?"

Hinata nodded, and turned on her **Byakugan**. She looked into the deepest part of the robot's interior, and within the center, she saw a bright flash, causing her to twitch, gasp and fall back.

"Hinata!" Naruto panicked as he caught her fall. "Ouch…" she groaned as she rubbed her head.

"What did you see?" Knuckles asked.

"I saw a really bright light inside of the robot." She explained, "It was coming from some sort of Green gem…"

"A Green gem is powering that thing?!" Sonic blinked.

"That can only mean one thing…" Knuckles nodded.

"Good thing I found that Chaos Emerald in the woods," Eggman said, still unaware of their presence, "otherwise this mission would surely have failed."

"So they _did_ come here…" Chris thought.

"So that's one of those Chaos Emeralds you guys were talking about, huh?" Shikamaru asked nonchalantly, "Give me some time to think…" he said as he knelt over.

"There's his Pose." Naruto said. "He's gonna think of a plan to beat this thing."

"I wonder if he'll live up to my expectations." Knuckles exclaimed.

"You okay, Hinata?" Chris asked, concerningly, "I'll be fine." She said as she shook off her daze.

When Shikamaru came to, he said, "Okay. Here's what we're gonna do."

XXXXX

"Well, Sonic is unbearably late today." Eggman groaned. "That is incredibly unlike him!"

"Oh well!" the girls remarked.

"Your plan would have succeeded even if he did show up!" Decoe chuckled.

"Well, who needs that Rat?" Bocoe shouted, "We can just proceed with destroying that Dumb Village Hidden in the Mist!"

"Oh well, the point is that I beat Sonic at his own game."

"Wait just a second, Eggman!"

They turned around, and to their intrigue, they Sonic standing atop a tree, holding Naruto's arm very tightly. It was almost as if…

"If you want him, then you can have him!" Sonic shouted. Every member of Eggman's crew was dumbfounded. Pleased by the accomplishment of their mission, but nonetheless, dumbfounded.

"Sonic?" Naruto asked him as heartfelt as can be, "Why would you betray me like that?" Sonic turned away and shed a tear, "I was wrong about you." Naruto began to sob. "You and I are nothing alike." Naruto then cried as he tore his arm from Sonic and jumped over to the Egg mobile. "Fine! I don't need you either!" He then put cried into Eta's chest, while she hugged him, saying, "There, there, sweetie." Theta, enjoying this said, "It's over Sonic. You lose." Eggman smirked at this and began flying his ship away.

"I guess they had some sort of fight back in the village." Decoe said, curiously.

"It doesn't matter, now." Bocoe said. "He's in good hands, now."

Upon seeing this, Sonic turned around, and didn't look back.

"The poor dear," Eta said, with Naruto still crying onto her bosom. "He's really cute when you see him up close." Eta brought his face up to hers and hugged her with his head over her shoulder, while he was still weeping over Sonic's disgusting betrayal. "It's okay, sweetie. Eta and Theta will make it all better." Theta continued with, "If there's anything you want, just tell me."

"Well…" Naruto said, wiping his tears, "There's something I wanna tell you…"

"Just tell us, you poor dear…" they said at the said.

"I wanna say…"

"I SO FREAKIN' GOT YOU!"

"Huh?!?" Everyone said.

Then, another Naruto jumped from the trees holding a Spiraling Sphere in his hands, and leapt towards the Gorilla. "Let's Do This!"

"Y-You little Bastard!" Eta finally figured it out. "You're a Clone! You Tricked Us!!!" the Naruto Shadow Clone snickered very evilly, and "POOF!" vanished into a Cloud of Smoke.

"Why that Sneaky son of a-"

"Careful, Sis! We were rated T!"

As Naruto leapt at the Big Ape, it noticed him coming right at him, and proceeded to shoot missiles from Cannons on its fingers, but the missile pods, that is _every single finger_ were sliced up and the pieces fell of until there was no Finger left. The gorilla then panicked. Sonic jumped up in a Spin Dash and Knuckles raised his fist as they attacked the beast's palms in unison, causing the Generators on its fists to shatter, and Naruto attacked the Transmitter with "**Rasengan**!" causing it to break as well.

There was a large Explosion upon the Transmitter's destruction, and when the smoke cleared, it was indeed surprising. They destroyed the parts of the robot that would be threatening to them, and destroyed Eggman's means of sending signals to the robot…

But not the Robot itself.

"What?!" Shikamaru cried out. "How could it have gone wrong?!"

"You fool!" Eggman cackled, gaining his attention. "Why send a bunch of Kids to fight a Megalomaniacal Scientist who is clearly more intelligent than you?!" Shikamaru glared at Eggman upon this, "I admit you are a very strong leader and a remarkable strategist, but that isn't enough to outwit my I.Q. of 300."

"Heh." Shikamaru smirked. "I knew you'd catch on when its fingers were sliced like a bunch of carrots." Eggman raised an eyebrow. "That was Hinata's doing. Her technique of **Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms** allows her to produce Chakra from her Palms in the form of long swords, and with speed as fast as Sonic, rapidly cuts through objects. It is the only method of cutting Chakra infused wires, but it can easily cut through metal armor that is up to an inch thick." Eggman nodded at this marvel.

"Indeed I am impressed by the girl's nobility. She is indeed strong." Shikamaru crossed his arms and smiled. "By the way, the member of your little Pep Rally, Hinata…This wouldn't be her, would it?" And within the clutches of Decoe and Bocoe, was…

"Naruto! Help Me!!" Hinata cried out.

"Hinata!!" Naruto shouted.

"Oh, and about my Chimp's Fingers…"

On that note, Mechanical Fingers extended from the Robots hands. Everyone was stunned, particularly Shikamaru, who felt is if it were all for naught.

"That Monkey just got a Tune-up!" Knuckles shouted in shock.

"I knew that Sonic abandoning Naruto to me was indeed too suspicious," Eggman smirked, "I assume you've gotten the chance to know each other, and you just _now_ ditch him?" They all shuddered at his clever awareness. "You sicken me. Although it only makes sense if you really were handed over like a bake sale cake." Naruto noticed this comment. "After all, you were scorned and avoided by everyone in your village." Naruto sulked as if in sadness. "Who would love a child with a horrifying threat within him?" Naruto grew angered by his words and began to glow red. "It's true nobody wanted me around then…" Naruto softly said as the glow faded and he raised his head up, bit his thumb, and formed hand signals with the use of his blood.

"But that is NOT how it is NOW!" then he leapt to the Ground and slammed his Palm on the Ground. "**Summoning Jutsu**!" Then an incredibly large cloud of smoke appeared and everyone was overcome by the blowing force of the smoke. Then a large image appeared from the smoke. Exactly the size and height of the Gorilla. Its size caused Eggman and his robots to quiver in fear.

"It's a Gigantic Frog!!" Chris called out.

"This isn't just _any_ Frog!" Naruto exclaimed, as he formed a Battle Position. "This is Lord Gamabunta, the Chief Toad! And he's gonna fight that Metal Monkey!" Everyone was awed and amazed by this spectacle, until…

"**NAAAARUUUTOOOOO!!!!!**" called out the Furious chief toad, whose voice was so incredibly loud that everyone was nearly blown away or forced to cover their ears.

"Aw, man! What a Drag!" Shikamaru said to himself. "I'd almost forgotten the Chief Toad was a major hothead…"

"You'd better have a Damn Good reason for calling me out here!!!" Where the Hell am I, anyway?!?"

"Hang on a second, there, big guy!" Sonic called, from underneath him, "Naruto did summon you for a good reason! We need your assis-"

"**SIIIIIILEEEEENCE**!" he shouted, the impact so Strong that Sonic had to run into in order to fight the wind current. "I did not ask you!"

"Man," Sonic and Knuckles said in unison, "That is one _mad_ Frog!"

"Naruto! Explain the situation to me at once!"

"Yes sir!" Naruto saluted, "That guy in that hovering machine up there," he pointed to the Egg mobile, Gamabunta looked up, causing Naruto to stumble, the Chakra control much more difficult since he used a lot of it to summon the Chief, "has just kidnapped an important friend of mine!" He took note of Hinata being held hostage by Decoe and Bocoe, whose eyes bugged out as Gamabunta glared at him.

"And also, He's using that Robot over there," he pointed at the Gorilla Robot, "to attack the Land of Water!" Gamabunta glared at the mechanical monstrosity, which was exactly his height, and positioned itself as if to Sumo Wrestle its Froggy opponent. "Heh. Did he now…" he said with a smirk.

"Those guys down there are here to help me fight them!" Gamabunta looked down at the group of Sonic, Knuckles, Chris and Shikamaru. "Well, if they are here to fight in the name of the Hidden Leaf," he said as he opened his mouth and extended his tounge, wrapped it around the four and placed them on his back. "Then I don't see why they shouldn't fight with us." Sonic gave a thumbs up to Naruto.

"I hope ya have good balance, kids, cuz this is gonna be a bumpy ride!"

Everyone became very flustered upon hearing this, save for Sonic, who said, "Are you kidding?! I ride the skies! Balance is where I fit best there!"

"Y'know, Sonic," Knuckles said, very annoyed, "That doesn't exactly help _us_ out!"

Gamabunta, who ignored this comment, immediately leapt into the air and performed a "**Water Release: Liquid Bullet**!" to spit water at the gorilla, which leapt back two steps. When chief landed, he leapt toward the robot, which leapt back at the colossal amphibian and locked hands with each other. Their strength was equally matched, but the Gorilla managed to throw the chief over its shoulder, since he had no claws to grip on with. He saw this as an opportunity to pull out the sword he was wielding, leap into the air and upon landing, perform "**Toad Blade Cut**!" and slice through the robot, severing its arm as it tried to counter with an uppercut.

The robot was astonished, but more importantly, it was furious. It began to kick dust and trees behind itself, as if preparing to charge at the Chief toad. His passengers had a very rough ride, and most struggled to get back up. Sonic was the sole exception.

"I guess Shikamaru's in position now." Knuckles said, noting that he was no longer on Gamabunta's back.

"Does any of you have a method of Fire?" He asked, calm yet hesitant.

Chris spoke up, "I have a flare gun with me!"

"Good!" he shouted. "I'm going to spit oil at this Metal Monster. Then you must shoot into the oil and it will ignite! The power of the flame should weaken its armor so your little friend can proceed to cut through it. Understand?"

They nodded to it, while Naruto was surprised that the chief knew what he meant.

"Chief, how did you know about-"

"Don't argue with me! Just Do It!" He formed the hand sign and his cheeks began to swell. Chris pointed his flare pistol in front of Gamabunta's nose, and cocked it. The Ape then began to charge at Gamabunta with the remaining arm in front of it. Chief charged back, bent forward and spat oil at the beast, and Chris shot his flare, causing the oil geyser to erupt in fire. Then, the Gorilla robot was engulfed in flame.

XXXXX

"I don't believe it!!!" Eggman shouted. "My Monkey's been Fried!"

"This is Terrible, Doctor!!!" Decoe panicked.

"I'm So Scared that my central circuits are shivering!" Bocoe said, his shaking causing Hinata to shake as well.

"This is Not Happening!!!" The Girls screamed.

"Quick! Let's get out of here!" Eggman shouted as he reached for his controls, but suddenly found himself unable to reach them by a Centimeter. In fact, his whole body was frozen, in fact. His Henchbots were frozen as were, as well.

"What…is…this?!" Eta and Theta said as their heads were being forced to turn around behind themselves.

"You must not be as smart as you say you are," Shikamaru scoffed, "If you underestimate your opponents every time you meet them." Their heads were forced back to their front sides by his **Shadow Possession Jutsu**.

"How did you get up here?!" Eggman demanded. "I thought I saw you fall off of Frog boy down there!" Shikamaru chuckled. "Well, substitutions are indeed very distracting." Eggman scoffed, and then admitted defeat. "Well, here's your friend. Take her and go." He pointed to Hinata with the force of the shadow. "Shikamaru sighed. "Don't make me repeat myself Doctor."

After the Robot's fire died down, it was completely motionless, and incredibly burnt and covered in smoke. Luckily, Gamabunta had performed a few Liquid Missiles before the Fire could spread.

"Now, Hinata!" shouted Naruto.

Deep within the trees, Hinata had come out of hiding behind a Flap and quickly proceeded towards the Robot, and leapt onto the trees, until finally on top of the robot. Chief Toad had cooled the flaming metal, so she could stand on it easily.

"Okay, Hinata!" she thought to herself, "Let's do this once more!"

She turned on her **Byakugan**, and began to prepare for her most Powerful Attack. The one her intense training had brought to her. The one she had performed on the Missile Cannons of the Robot Gorilla during the mission start. This technique, called "**Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms**!" She began spinning her arms around rapidly, as fast as Sonic could run. And, as Shikamaru said, Hinata forms Chakra Swords from her palms to cut through Chakra strings as well as weak bodied walls and surfaces.

"Wha?!" Dr. Eggman blurted. "How did she-" he was cut off by being turned to his Prisoner 'Hinata', who was nothing more than A Naruto Shadow Clone that performed a Transformation. It disappeared. As his head was being turned back in front of him, Eggman was furious. "How did you do this?!?"

Shikamaru smirked, "Well, if you must know…"

"I knew it wouldn't be that easy when I first saw the Robot chump. So, I had Chris do another Analysis on it. So to keep you distracted, I had Sonic and Naruto perform a Hopeless Betrayal act. Of course, that was only a Shadow Clone. Another one hid in the trees, helping the real Naruto charge up for his **Rasengan**. I also had Knuckles and Sonic wait for the right moment before attacking the generators on its palms, while Hinata cut the Missile Cannons to leave them directly open. Chris's Flare gun isn't only good for calling for help. That's just one of its settings. So, while you were occupied with the Crybaby Shadow Clone, I had Chris shoot a Smoke mine onto the Transmitter on its head. At the signal, we all played the first plan in bringing Monkey boy down. When Naruto destroyed the Transmitter, it set off the Smoke, and we were perfectly spotless. The other Shadow Clone took this Opportunity to use **Transformation Jutsu** to turn himself into Hinata, and get 'herself' kidnapped. I knew you'd have some sort of Plan B, so I told Naruto to recover more Chakra so he can summon the Chief Toad, Gamabunta. Now, he's a serious Hothead, but he has good perception, so he'd know the situation right on the mark. While he fought that big ape, I took the proper timing to hide underneath your Hover car with my Chakra control. You know what happened after that."

Eggman growled rather loudly to that. "I hate to admit it, but that's a Very impressive Plan of yours…"

"Oh, it's not over. You're about to see the end."

"Huh?!?"

As Hinata continued to slice through the Robot, it finally came to fruition, as the Robot was beginning to disassemble underneath her toes. Back on Gamabunta, Chris shot from his Custom Gun again, and this time, shot a missile into the air. Sonic leapt for it, because it was a Capsule that contained a Ring. As he grabbed it, he began to course with power, and performed another Spin Dash. This time, he went through the Robot's chest and started careening within it like a Pinball. The robot exploded, throwing Sonic, Hinata and the reason they destroyed this robot in the first place, above it.

"The Chaos Emerald!" Sonic shouted.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!" Hinata screamed as she flew through the air.

"Hinata!" Naruto shouted, and then leapt off of Chief's back.

Sonic made a grab for the gem, Naruto for the Girl.

Naruto caught Hinata in her arms and Sonic caught the Chaos Emerald in his hand. They all landed on Gamabunta.

"Well, y'know what they say Doctor," Shikamaru snidely remarked as he released his **Shadow Possession Jutsu**, "Don't bite more than you can chew, and don't underestimate your foes."

He leapt off just as a part from the Gorilla Robot careened into the Egg mobile and exploded on contact. The car went flying and Eggman and his dingbots screamed into the distance.

Shikamaru landed on Gamabunta's head, and they all celebrated their victory.

"We did it!" Knuckles shouted with glee.

"I can't believe this plan actually worked!" Chris said, amazed. "But this _is_ Shikamaru we're talking about."

"And best part of all," Sonic continued, "We got our First Chaos Emerald!"

"That means there are six more, right?" Shikamaru asked. "Good work, Team."

"Are you okay, Hinata?" Naruto asked, still holding her in his arms.

Hinata nodded yes, and she closed her eyes as she put her head to his chest, where she could feel the beating of his heart.

"Well, it's been a long day, Children." Gamabunta said with a happy tone of voice. "How about I give you tykes a ride home?"

Everyone cupped Sonic's mouth before he could respond. "We'll walk, Chief." Knuckles replied.

XXXXX

Bokkun had woken up in the middle of nowhere. He appeared to be in a desert.

"Huh?" he looked up and thought, "Was I sleeping this whole time?"

He shook it off. "I shouldn't be here! I gotta get that message to Dr. Eggman!"

After he said that, he heard a distinct screaming, that was getting louder and louder. It was coming in his direction. He could only wave his arms and freak out before…

"BOOM!"

The Egg mobile and its passengers had crashed onto Bokkun.

"Hey, Doctor." He said. "I just thought you oughta know that…Sonic got the message…" he passed out again.

"I hate…that Hedgehog…" Eggman groaned before passing out himself.

XXXXX

Back in Tsunade's Office, she had congratulated them for yet another Mission completed.

"Thanks, Naruto." Shikamaru said, "I couldn't have done this without you."

"Actually, it was Hinata who saw the Chaos Emerald in that Monkey." Hinata blushed in happiness.

"Well, we got our first one now." Sonic said. "We should tell Tails about it tomorrow."

"Let him rest for now." Knuckles said. "Everyone's been working hard today."

"And of course it was Shikamaru's plan that saw us through!" Chris complimented. "We owe it all to him."

Shikamaru smiled and shed a tear at that compliment. "You guys are the best companions a leader like me could ever have."

"It goes to all of you." Tsunade remarked. "You all saw this plan through to the end, and beat Dr. Eggman yet again. You all deserve some R&R."

"Thank you Lady Tsunade!" they said.

"If that Eggman comes again, I'll pulverize him! Believe it!"

Then he wrapped his arms around Hinata, and said, "You're the best, Hinata."

She blushed and returned the hug. earning a unison "Awwwwww" from everybody.

Just then, a knock was at the door. "Enter!"

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune shouted as she came rushing in. "A message from the Hidden Sand Village!"

She took the note and started reading. Then she gasped.

"I don't believe it!" she softly said. Everyone lifted an eyebrow.

"Eggman's lair is in the Land of Wind! It's near the Hidden Village of Sand!"

Everyone gasped.


	5. Shadows of the Sand

Chapter 5: Shadows of the Sand

After Chaos Control enveloped Dr. Eggman's lair in bright light, those who were caught in it were sent in various directions in this new dimension. Although some were grouped together when they came to. Especially Eggman, who still had his robot lackeys and his warship, the Egg Carrier. Even the Chaos Emeralds were engulfed in the light, and were sent to this Dimension, as well.

A certain Black Hedgehog who fought for the military was having the worst of it. He landed in a desert in the middle of nowhere. Though his two companions tried to calm him down, he was furious about the new Dimension disrupting communication signals to his Commander, Eggman still at large, the Chaos Emeralds gone, though he was unaware they arrived, and worst of all, he knew it was his own fault that all this happened.

"DAMMIT!" Shadow shouted as he punched the palm tree. Many of them were sliced in half by his Chaos Spear, or broken to pieces by him punching through them. "I can't believe this is Happening!!!"

"Shadow, calm down!" Rouge yelled, as if to try to comfort him. "It's not like you could have done anything to prevent this."

"That is because I'M the one who CAUSED it!!" he retorted, "The Chaos Emeralds are gone, Eggman's still on the run, we're stuck in the middle of nowhere and it's all MY Fault!"

"Just be glad that we landed in this Oasis, or we would've died for sure!"

She turned her arm in the direction of the oasis they had landed in. Fresh water was flowing through the pond that centered this area. It was surrounded by Palm trees and shrubs. Some of the trees were broken from Shadow's rage, while others stood perfectly unharmed. Some even grew Bananas, Mangoes or Coconuts.

Omega, who was leaning on one tree, had awakened from Standby Mode to provide even more sympathy to Shadow's cause.

"Sensors Unable to Locate Dr. Eggman or the Chaos Emeralds." Shadow sulked angrily at this. "It's not that they are gone. This Sand is just too thick."

"Have you forgotten how Chaos Control works?" Rouge asked nonchalantly, "Everyone and Everything that is caught in its force can be sent anywhere, even to the same location if it's used by someone who can utilize it." Then she walked up to him and tapped him on the chest. "You know that better than anybody."

Shadow thought for a second, and then nodded. He then turned in the direction of the desert beyond the Oasis, and started walking toward it.

"Shadow, where are you going?" Rouge asked with concern.

"I caused this mess." Shadow said without even looking at her, "I'm going to fix it." He continued to walk along.

"There's a Sandstorm coming! It's too strong! You'll die out there!"

"That's not your problem."

Shadow continued to walk out into the desert, while Rouge and Omega looked out at him in shame, despair and sympathy.

XXXXX

As Shadow walked through the desert, the sandstorm became even stronger. So strong, in fact, that it managed to disrupt the function of his Air Shoes. He was forced to walk because of this. As the sand blew, he constantly tried to fight it. He had to squint his eyes to avoid getting sand in it, but it only blurred his vision. Also, a major concept for those lost in the desert, the heat made him very thirsty.

"Stupid desert…" Shadow thought to himself.

As he continued to walk, he saw a cactus in the distance. He walked up to it, but with caution, since he had learned about desert hallucination from exhaustion, otherwise known as, the Mirage.

When he got close enough to the spiny plant, he saw that it was indeed real. He used his Chaos Spear to slice off its spines, and then a kick to slice its top half off. This plant was very broad, so he pulled out half a coconut from the oasis and cupped the water inside of it. He didn't hesitate to slurp as much from the bowl as possible. He scooped some more and took another drink.

He continued to walk, but luckily, the sandstorm died down, if not only slightly. He could at least open his eyes properly, now. But he only walked for five minutes before strange things started to happen. He was beginning to walk rather wobbly, and his vision was blurred even more, even though he could open his eyes perfectly. He came to a reasonable conclusion as he fell to the ground.

"Something's wrong here…" he said deliriously, "What was…in that…cactus…?"

He laid there for a few seconds before he shut his eyes completely.

XXXXX

When Shadow came to, he found himself covered in bandages and his shoes were on the ground. But oddly enough, it wasn't sand. It appeared to be the floor of a house, a bedroom to be specific. And he himself was in a bed. He looked around in confusion. He didn't panic because that wasn't in his nature.

"Well, look who's finally awake." A feminine voice said. When Shadow looked over, he saw a girl with blond hair that was tied back in four places, each tail was spiky, she wore a Purple One-Piece Dress and an overall corset on her front side and a bit of cleavage showed from her shirt above it. That wasn't as noticeable as the headband she wore around her neck with the symbol of an hourglass. There was a long red ribbon tied around her waist and a giant bow on her back. The lower of her dress went down to the top of her hips. This revealed much of her legs down to where she was wearing fishnet leggings, one from her hip and another from her ankle, that were almost like socks, and she wore black sandals. She was sitting in a chair across from his bed with one leg over another.

"Y'know, you were pretty beat up when you were brought here." She said with a smirk on her face. "The sandstorms out there are strong enough to rip the skin off your body."

Shadow looked back and said, "I got carried away…but that won't happen again." He looked back at her and glared. "Let's get something straight here. Who are you and where am I?"

"Well, you've got quite the attitude there." She scoffed. "Don't you know that it's common courtesy to introduce yourself before asking another's name?"

"I'm not the courteous type." Shadow replied. "Now answer my question."

The girl sighed. "My name is Temari," She started. "and this is the Village Hidden in the Sand."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Village?"

"I mean open a window and see for yourself." she said as she walked over and opened the curtains. Shadow shielded his eyes from the bright light, but managed to walk over to the window, and find that she was indeed right. They are inside a Village. Houses, shops, children playing in the streets, their mothers sweeping their front porches while smiling at them, it was indeed a village. The walls surrounding the village as well as the buildings were made of sand, but were about exactly as hard and solid as stone, so the villagers wouldn't be caught in the sandstorms beyond the walls. In the center of the village was a dome made of the exact stone. That is where the village leader would work to keep the village in shape, as well as defend it from danger.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Temari said, "I'm glad you're well enough to walk. You were out cold for three days." Shadow blinked to this.

"How is that possible?" He softly asked.

"Your friends found you unconscious in the desert and brought you here."

Shadow's eyes widened.

"Rouge saw our village while seeking shelter for you. Omega held you in his arms, and the two brought you to our village. The guards were hesitant at first, but our respectful sources took you in without question. Specifically, my brothers and I. Your skin had bruises and cuts from the sand and you were bleeding pretty badly. We took you in for medical attention as fast as we could. You were dead unconscious, too. We assume you drank water from a desert cactus. Don't do that again. Its water has toxins that can make someone hallucinatory, or even knock them out cold for a while. You were injured, so you were asleep longer than usual. Rouge and Omega were really worried about you. Omega came and went for your food and drinks, but Rouge never left your side. My brothers, Kankuro and Gaara and I came to keep you company, as well."

"Your friends really care about you." Temari finished.

"Something really bad happened a while back," Shadow said softly, "and it was my fault." He looked down to the floor as he sat down on his bed. "I wanted to try to fix this, so they could return home. I didn't want them any more involved than they already were." Shadow began to shed tears from his eyes. "I tried to so much on my own, yet they did everything to help me." They dripped to the floor. "I feel like a fool…"

"You sound like my brother, Gaara." Temari replied with true compassion. "A lot of things happened to him during his life, and he flowed down a dark path. But he's made a recent change for the better." She looked out and said, "If there's someone important to you, you will do anything to help or please them."

Shadow looked back up and wiped his tears. "You remind me of Rouge." He said softly. "Your appearance seems rather scantily clad, but you're very true at heart." Temari blushed and smiled at his compliment.

Then the door to the room opened, and into the room came the very same people who did so much to help him, Rouge, Omega, Gaara and Kankuro. Gaara had pure red fuzzy hair and pale green eyes which were lined in deep black circles. It looked like makeup, but he also looked rather drowsy. He had a Japanese symbol tattoo on his forehead that was as red as his hair and wore a dark maroon suit that had sleeves down to his wrists as well as legs to his ankles. Netting similar to Temari's was noticable outside of them. His sandals were also black. He wore what seemed like a sash with belts over his shoulder and waist and his headband was tied to that belt. Kankuro wore a pitch black suit similar to Gaara's with a Symbol that was shaped like a Circle which was Yellow on one half and purple on the other. He wore fingerless gloves and a headdress which had what looked like ears on top of them and some sort of pattern painted on his face. Temari and Gaara had metal protectors with an Hourglass symbol on their headbands, but Kankuro had his on his headdress.

"Shadow," Rouge said, "You're awake."

Shadow walked up to the group with Temari behind him. Shadow looked down to the side with a rather sad look on his face.

"I'm Sorry." He said.

Rouge walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It doesn't matter to me whether we return home or not." She then walked up and hugged him. "As long as you're safe, that is the only important thing." Shadow looked back at her and smiled.

"Shadow." Omega said. Shadow turned to him, "Baki wants to see you in the main office." Shadow nodded, and walked off, but not before Omega said, "Know that we will never leave your side." As he place his hand to his chest.

Shadow walked down the hallway and closed his eyes before putting his usual serious expression on his face.

XXXXX

Baki wore a flap over half of his face, which was held on by a Turban. The rest of his outfit was the standard Jonin Outfit. He had scar-like markings on the visible half of his face. He spoke just as Shadow entered the room.

"Shadow the Hedgehog." He exclaimed. "You are an Agent of the Guardian Unit of Nations from another Dimension, are you not?"

"I guess Rouge and Omega already filled you in?" Shadow commented skeptically.

"Your friends showed us their badges when they brought you here, and we received a Message from Tsunade of the Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Fire, our country, the Land of Wind neighbors."

Shadow blinked to this.

"She mentioned Warriors from another Dimension fighting to stop a Villain from the very same." Shadow widened his eyes to this.

"So, Dr. Eggman is here, after all."

"That is exactly right." He said, "We found exactly where he was hiding before we got the Message."

Shadow smirked upon hearing this, "Just tell me where he is."

XXXXX

In the Village, Temari, Gaara, Rouge, Omega and Kankuro walked around so they could get the chance to know each other. Temari, Rouge and Gaara walked around in the Marketplace and Omega and Kankuro sat by the lake where the Caravan Camels were located.

In the Marketplace, Temari and Gaara walked along, while Rouge floated, even shopping for food and trinkets along the way.

"Wow, Temari!" Rouge said, "Your outfit looks very dashing!"

"I do the best to keep my clothes nice and clean." She replied elegantly.

"And your hairstyle is certainly very unique."

"Well, I don't want to toot my own horn…"

"Why ever not?" Rouge wondered, "Your oh so ravishing good looks are certain to get all the boys running after you!"

"Stop, you're making me blush…" she said, "My clothes are nothing compared to yours, though…" she looked at Rouge's uniform, "I've never even seen an outfit like that before either."

She pointed to the Symbol on her Chest, "Hearts are indeed all the rage in my Professional Opinion."

"Well, if a guy ever does try to ogle or touch me, he'll be meeting the full force of my **Wind Scythe**." She said with a smile and angst.

"Oh, I know what you mean!" Rouge agreed, "I don't just show off these legs, I'll have you know."

"A Treasure Hunter's gotta be prepared for everything, I guess…"

"You knew I like gems?"

"I do now."

"Oh you sneaky weasel." She replied with a snicker.

As they spoke, Rouge couldn't help but notice that some of the Townsfolk were acting differently toward Gaara. Children seemed to wave hi as though he were a celebrity, yet some of the older passersby smiled nervously and waved as if he were a criminal released by Parole, but still had their doubts. Some glared at him.

"Your little bro seems to be getting some Hi-Eyes as well as Stink-Eyes." Rouge said curiously, "Did he do something recently?"

Temari shrugged with a sad expression, "Let's just say that Gaara's done some…things in the past that people aren't proud of." Rouge looked around again, "The younger ones aren't aware of what it was and we prefer to keep it that way."

Rouge looked at Temari skeptically, and said, "Okay, I'll respect your secret, but I'm curious to know what it is."

Temari looked over to the right and didn't respond.

XXXXX

Over in the Caravan Pond, Omega and Kankuro got the chance to each other as well. Though the fact that Omega had Artificial Intelligence and spoke in the same tone of voice when he spoke was a little annoying, Kankuro was able to keep up good conversation with him, because he knew that he had emotions.

"So you're a Robot." Kankuro said, "We don't usually see your kind in place like this."

"I was built by Dr. Eggman." Omega said, "When he arrives, you will be seeing more of them."

"If you're one of his Robots, how come you've got it in for 'im?

"I was locked in a chamber by him once." Omega sulked. "He never treats any of his robots with respect, yet they are forced to obey him." As he pulled his hand up and clenched it, he said, "And they think they're Superior. I shall prove them wrong"

"Yea, I know whatcha mean." Kankuro empathized. "It's never fun to be cooped up in a room or to be forced into someone's dirty work." He placed a hand on Omega's large shoulder. "Plus, I don't like to be outdone by anyone! I like your free spirit, buddy. It reminds me of myself."

"Compassion Cycle Initiated." Omega said, then took note of the two wooden Marionettes next to Kankuro. "Those are interesting Puppets."

"Oh, you mean Crow and Black Ant here?" he replied. "Yea, I take pride in these guys."

"Are you the creator?"

"They were actually created by a guy named Sasori, but he left a long time ago."

"How Unfortunate."

"It's fine. Now they're my own personal arsenal. I can control them by producing strings of Chakra from my fingers." Omega turned to him. "Don't take it the wrong way, they can't move on their own. They're my buddies!"

"It is great to know there are people who care about artificially created beings like me."

"Well, I'm never gonna think down on you." Kankuro replied, "You look pretty strong, too. I think you're the best out of them all. But I've never seen another one."

Kankuro picked up Crow and brought him over.

"Crow's got Blades underneath his arms and his head." He pointed to Crow's armpits and neck. "Sometimes, I can dip 'em in Poison, so the unsuspecting guy gets poked to an untimely end."

"Sounds Fascinating."

"It gets better. Black Ant's Body is a Container for Prisoners." He held them both up. "When people get caught in here, I can use Crow's blades to pierce through these slots and destroy whoever's inside."

Omega turned his arms over multiple times to show what weapons he holds within them. "I Contain Machine Guns for Rapid Fire attacks, Flamethrowers to burn things, Missile Launchers to Blow things up, and Energy Cannons for a Finishing Touch."

Kankuro shrugged and said, "Heh. Remind me not to get on your bad side."

XXXXX

Shadow had managed to call both his team and Baki's team over to him so they could investigate Eggman's base, which was located in an Abandoned Castle out in the desert. Luckily, they were a long time away from another Sandstorm, so they'd find this Castle no problem. Most of that came from Temari leading the way. This time, the Sand shinobi were geared for battle: Gaara, using White sheets, strapped a Giant Gourd to his back, Kankuro carried his puppets wrapped on his back like mummies, and Temari held a giant iron Kabuki fan on hers.

Shadow didn't speak with Gaara, or vice versa, but they could tell that they had similarities to each other by looking into each others eyes. They could tell that a very sufferable past was within them and they had grown to despise humanity because of it. They could also tell that one person played a major role in changing their personalities.

"Well, they've just gotten to know each other…" Kankuro observed from in front of him, "Is anybody else you know this perceptive?"

"Negative." Omega replied.

"Temari, how far until we reach the base?" Rouge said, flying rather than leaping, "Only five more kilometers." She replied, noting the Castle in the distance.

XXXXX

When they reached the Castle, they could tell it was Dr. Eggman's base, since the front entry had the symbol resembling his face on it. He had only recently moved in, so he couldn't have installed anything just yet, not even a Security System. It also appeared that Eggman wasn't here, but that was no problem. Shadow felt the presence of Chaos Emeralds, so they could go in, swipe what he bagged and bug his office with a Micro-Transmitter, should he plan any more suspicious activity.

"The doors look pretty tough to breach." Rouge said, "How do you suppose we'll get in?"

"Like this."

Rouge was surprised to hear that Gaara was the one who spoke. He stepped forward and uncorked his Gourd, and Sand came pouring out, but that wasn't as strange as it floating out of it. It began moving towards the door and wrapping around its handles. Gaara made a gesture with his hands, and pulled them toward himself. Just as the gesture signaled, the sand began to pull the door open. It was as if he was controlling the sand.

"Let's go." He said. "Lead the way, Rouge."

"Showoff…" Rouge thought to herself, "at least he's not mute."

Rouge pulled out a watch from her Pocket and turned it on. "Normally, I rely on my own instincts, but we all may need technology for this." It was actually radar to detect Chaos Emeralds in tight situations.

"It's being kept in a container on the Third Floor." On that note, everybody proceeded through the Castle.

XXXXX

As they reached the Third floor with no complications, Shadow and Omega planted the bug in Eggman's office, while Rouge took the others to the room where the Chaos Emerald was.

"Hmmm…" Shadow grunted as he was lost in thought.

"Sensors indicate no signs of enemy activity." Omega analyzed. "No robots, no guards, it seems quiet."

"It seems too easy is what is…" Shadow replied. Then he felt an instant rumbling, which could only be caused by a large explosion of some kind. "Speak of the Devil…" Then they ran outside the room.

XXXXX

"Here it is, right on the mark." Rouge said.

They appeared in some sort of Generator room that looked as if to power something. The lights were off, so they couldn't see anything, except the Chaos Emerald that stood in the center of the room, floating inside a container. Rouge flew on ahead, and the Sand-Nin followed behind.

"Ah, my precious Chaos Emerald." Rouge said with fascination, "Don't worry. You'll be in safe hands soon enough."

"If it's a Chaos _Emerald_," Kankuro wondered, "How come it's colored _blue_?"

"There are Seven Chaos Emeralds in total." Rouge explained, "They can power machines as well as give strength to those who can utilize it, like Shadow and Sonic, another member of my Dimension."

"Okay, but you didn't answer my question."

"There are seven in all, each a different color. There's Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Violet, Aqua and White."

"Well," Temari said, "I guess there's good reason in having them, then."

"Oh, there is indeed." Rouge replied. "With these, all we need to do capture Dr. Eggman and we can go back to Mobius and place him in Custody of the Law."

"By the way," Temari said, "Why exactly are Dr. Eggman and you guys here in the first place?"

"Dr. Eggman found a power within some brat in this Dimension and wants to rule our world with." She lifted her finger and shook it, "but we're here to capture him in the name of the Law."

"Who's the kid?" Kankuro asked.

Just as Rouge opened the container for the Emerald, Gaara blinked and said, "Someone's here!" and then a Mechanical arm reached out, no, it _extended_ out and grabbed the Chaos Emerald before Rouge could.

Then a figure appeared from the shadows and his eyes glowed red.

"Welcome to our humble abode, you wretched urchins." He said.

"Who are you?" Rouge asked interrogatively.

"You may call me E-117-Sigma," The voice said, and the figure standing across them was a Robot. Exactly the height of Rouge and had a Star-shaped symbol on his forehead. His face was similar to that of a Normal Human Being, and he had Red lining under his eyes and on his cheeks. His body had Arms that could extend, Legs that seemed to contain spring-loaded feet and rockets, and his body looked like a Black Jumpsuit with White Lining. He had spiked shoulders and he wore a Tunic. "Otherwise known as Dr. Eggman's Favorite Assassin!"

He jumped back and while in midair, he shot an Energy ball from the sole of his foot. They avoided the blast and Temari opened her Giant fan, while Kankuro unraveled Crow and Black Ant from his back. Temari opened her fan, and waved it to perform her "**Wind Scythe Jutsu**!" and blow Sigma to the wall. He was hit by the blast, but did a Backflip to rebound off the wall, only to have Kankuro command Crow to attack him with two of its Arm Blades. Sigma spun in a rapid circle to reflect them away from him. Gaara summoned sand to envelop him, which succeeded in doing so, and performed his "**Sand Coffin**!" to strangle him. After a few seconds the sand was pushed back and exploded from the force of Sigma's strength.

"Your techniques are Pathetic, you little Urchins." Sigma scoffed. "But at least you can avoid me," Rouge then closed her eyes, squinted them as if to concentrate, and Snapped her fingers to perform "**Black Wave**!" Sigma then was engulfed a dark Sonicboom, which hit him on the mark. He fell to the ground, but flipped before hitting the ground and leapt towards Rouge and reached his fist at her, but stopped right as it was an inch from her face, then Opened his palm, creating a Sonic wave, forcing her back.

"Instant Transmission Techniques are quite amazing." He said, "Guess I'm not the only one who knows them."

Then he was quickly assaulted by hundreds of bullets, to fast for him to keep up with and fired before he could notice who. Then, everyone's favorite Black Hedgehog warped into the room, and kicked him in the stomach.

"Glad you could make it." Rouge said to Shadow.

"Where's the Emerald?" he asked demandingly.

"He's got it!" Kankuro pointed out.

"Initiation of Emerald Retrieval Commencing!" Omega shouted. Then he switched to his Missile Launcher. "Your eradication is eminent, Sigma!"

"Omega." He remarked slyly. "I never forget the face of a Traitor."

"I wouldn't be talking if I were you." Gaara said as sand floated from his Gourd like smoke. Sigma raised an eyebrow, and looked up, only to see a Giant Cloud of sand above him. Gaara raised his hand as if to form a Military command and glared at Sigma before waving thrusting it down to activate his "**Sand Drizzle**!" On that mark, thousands of sand needles began to rain down, all in the direction of Sigma.

"Crap!" he shouted, as he tried to flee with his Rockets, but Gaara waved his arms like an Orchestra Conductor, and the sand started to follow him. "Double Crap!" he shouted as he noticed this. He flew even faster, so the sand wouldn't keep up with him. But it prevailed none, since it followed him everywhere he flew. He stopped in one place, in front of the Emerald container, and performed the same spin attack to reflect the sand from him. The sand was being thrown back to the walls, and collapsed on contact.

As he finished his attack, he looked back at his opponent. "You stupid punk." He put on an evil smirk. "Do you really believe all that dirt can beat me?"

"No." he said as he pointed upward. Sigma looked up, and he was instantly hit by the remaining Sand Needle. The pressure was so strong, that it caused him to drop the Chaos Emerald. "Just one clump should do."

"Shadow!" Rouge called and pointed to the Emerald. Shadow leapt over and grabbed it. He leapt back. Then he coursed power from within him.

"You!" Sigma shouted as he rocketed back towards the group.

"Oh, no you don't!" Temari shouted as she bit her thumb, and then spread the blood across her fan. Then she performed her "**Summoning Jutsu: Decapitation Dance**!" by waving her fan, and from a cloud of smoke, appeared Kamatari, a weasel that is her size with a sash over its left eye and a Sickle just as big as itself. He began flailing his weapon around like crazy, causing the room to crumble, and the entire base along with it. Sigma stopped when he saw this, and could only await the castle's demolition in panic.

"Shadow!" Rouge called out.

"**Chaos Control**!"

On that mark, He, Rouge, Omega, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro, as well as Crow and Black Ant were teleported from the room.

"DAMMIT!!" Sigma shouted, as the building toppled over him.

XXXXX

They reappeared on the roof of the central building of the Sand Village. Everyone watched as the castle toppled over in the distance.

"Mission Accomplished." Shadow said.

"Whaddya mean?!" Kankuro barked. "The castle's been destroyed!"

"I'm aware of that." He replied. "Eggman will just rebuild it once he sees what's become of it."

"What of the bug?" Temari asked, "Won't he notice it in the wreckage?"

"No."

They Temari and Kankuro raised eyebrows.

"The bug is invisible, thanks to a cloaking chip inside it, plus it has Artificial Intelligence, so it will move around when it sees something important. The mission was a success."

"So, Rouge?" Temari asked, "Who's the kid that Eggman wanted to kidnap in order to rule the world?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

They all looked at Gaara.

"He has a power similar to mine, and he was once feared because of it. He knows the pain of loneliness like I do, and has made it his life goal to become the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. He also values his friends more than he does himself. As the same, it shall become my goal to become accepted in this village. By fighting to defend others. We both wish to make a difference."

They looked at each other, and looked back at him with empathy, even if they held a different expression.

"I guess he really is like me." Shadow thought to himself.


	6. Fight for the Future

Chapter 6: Fight for the Future

Many years from now, the World of Mobius is not in peace as everyone would have hoped. The world is not in ruin, nor is it safe. Across the skies flew a Mechanical Monster that had taken the form of a dragon. He had Blue armor and horrifying Red eyes. He had an accomplice, whom without; none would be possible for this disaster. He had Black hair, wore a Samurai robe with a Violet Rope-like belt and sword to match his clothes and Red eyes that looked like they could pierce into someone's Mind.

They were truly a force to be feared.

To think that one of the two was the lone survivor of the Illustrious Uchiha Clan.

There was one who could stand against this Menace, though. He had never defeated him, but had never given up, either. He had constantly sought a way to truly defeat this scourge, but was too naïve to understand the way the world works. He had a true Sense of Justice and never went back on his word when he promised to eventually defeat them.

He was a Shiny White Hedgehog with Hair on his forehead that almost looked like a crown, two spines on the back of his head as well as his back itself, and around his wrists and Dark-colored boots were Golden Rings with a glowing Cyan line running through them, and his gloves had a Cyan symbol on them as well.

His name was Silver.

In this world, people were gifted with the power to lift things with their mind in the form of a power called "**Psychokinesis**." Silver had mastered this power to a great extent, where he can even perform signature techniques using them. He can even Power his fists and feet to increase his speed and strength, or even execute a Spin Dash. He could also levitate by enveloping his body with Psychokinesis. Other techniques, well, he was about to test them on this Horrible Dictator.

"You don't scare me, Sasuke!" he shouted. "It's time I ended this!!"

"Look, Partner." The Dragon spoke, "That wimpy little Psycho-brat is challenging us again."

Sasuke simply took sight of Silver's Vim and Vigor, and chuckled. "I guess we should give him what he wants." The dragon then flew over down to challenge young Silver. When he saw him coming, he slammed his palm to the ground and began coursing with power as his body glowed cyan. The Dragon lunged back and took a deep breath as electricity emanated in its mouth, when it threw its head forward it shot a ball of lightning from its mouth, and just before it hit Silver, he leapt up into the sky over fifty feet, and levitated in his position, and snapped his fingers.

"**Psycho Bolt**!" he shot a lightning bolt down on the samurai riding the Dragon, who leapt from his beastly companion and took a deep breath before throwing "**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**!" Silver thrust his hands forward before the fireball could hit him, and tried to contain it within his Psycho-Kinesis as much as possible, it took a while, but he placed his arm across his face and thrust it forward so that his "**Psycho Thrust**!" could steer it away, back to its user, who leapt back on the Dragon, and both endured the hit.

When the fire died, they came out with not a single scar. Silver growled, and flew towards his enemy, who leapt up and thrust his hand forward and threw a "**Striking Shadow Snake**!" at him, summoning several snakes from his sleeve, all coming towards Silver. He spun around once, blowing the snakes back with "**Sky Psycho Shock**!" and continuing his rapid flight towards the foe and hitting him right on the mark.

Silver hit Sasuke square in the chest with the full speed force of his "**Sonic Levitation**," and he was knocked to the ground, where the fight was to continue. The Dragon decided on watching the fight from above, since he knew his partner could take care of himself, as well as destroy the cute little mousey who wanted to play fight-to-the- death.

"This ends today!" Silver shouted, "I will save the world from your tyranny!"

"Hmph." he scoffed. "Don't make me have a heart attack from laughing so much."

Silver glared at his foe.

"You're not even worth the effort for this."

As he said that, his hand began glowing, jolting with lightning and making an irritating sound that sounded like thousands of birds chirping.

"But since you're so hasty, I guess I can give you what you want."

"**Chidori**!"

Silver backed away slowly in astonishment, thinking, "Shoot! It's that technique again!" He looked up, and then down, and this time, thought, "I guess I'll have to use _that_ technique as well…" He began charging his Psycho-Kinetic energy and thought, "It's not fully developed yet, but I have no other option."

The villain rushed toward Silver while dragging his arm over the ground, it scraping through as though it were a sword. Silver charged his energy long enough until he began to _shine_ cyan, he placed his hand forward and focused his energy into it, he leapt back and thrust his arm forward until it had taken the shape of a giant snake-like dragon with red eyes, whiskers, horns and tusks.

"**Psycho Leviathan**!"

The psychic beast rushed toward the samurai and impacted full force, but Sasuke managed to break through it after about fifteen seconds of clenched sword and teeth. But it did prove _some_ prevail, because he was forced to use **Chidori** on it.

"Yes!" Silver cheered, "I took out your attack!"

Then he leapt toward Silver and gave him a swift uppercut, and Silver fell on his back. Sasuke then walked up to him and drew his sword on him. "You truly are annoying." He simply said, as silver laid there in fear. "It's time I ended this." He pulled his sword upward and prepared to stab him. Silver realized he failed his lifelong and closed his eyes to wait for the inevitable.

"POW!"

Just then, the beloved Pink-haired kunoichi leapt out and punched Sasuke clean in the face. She looked as if she were twenty years old and wore a red vest with a pink skirt and black spandex shorts underneath. She wore black andals and gloves and wore a red hairband on top of her head. She was furious, but was also sad at the same time.

"S-Sakura…" Silver said as he struggled to get up.

"Your little freedom squad cannot save you!" Sasuke declared as he leapt forward, but leapt back as a stream of fire spread in front of him.

Its creator was a Violet cat who wore a purple robe with fuzzy wrists, as well as white pants with fuzzy ankles. She wore pink high-heeled shoes with a strap running across each one and wore her hair, which almost looked like feathers with a red ring. Her forehead also had a red dot.

"Are you okay?" she asked Silver as she handed him the White Chaos Emerald.

"I'm fine, Blaze." He replied, "Thank you."

"This is futile." Sasuke aggravated, before he was handed a Kick to the face.

The delivery boy of that kick was Rock Lee, who was now wearing a Chunin vest over his green beast uniform and seemed to have wrinkles under his eyes.

"Your theft of the Springtime of Youth ends here!"

"This isn't through yet!" he shouted, "Metal, Now!"

"With Pleasure!" the dragon called, as he charged for another Thunder Breath.

Sasuke found himself stunned after he called out to him.

Neji, who was wearing more robes, and Shikamaru, who was wearing the standard Chunin outfit, showed up and came to the scene. Shikamaru had possessed Sasuke.

"Now would be a good time to leave…" Shikamaru hesitated.

"I'm on it!" Silver barked as he held the Chaos Emerald into the air.

Shikamaru released his Jutsu as Silver called out and the Metal Madness shot its breath.

"**Chaos Control**!"

They had warped just as Silver performed his Chaos Control, right before the group was engulfed in the blast.

When the smoke cleared, only Sasuke stood in the desolated area, and the dragon floated down next to him and transformed. His body has taken the shape of Sonic, but also, not Sonic. He had white striped spikes and armored forearms and shins. He had spikes on his wrists, neck and ankles too. He wore a cape at his waist. His most horrifying feature was a pair of pitch black eyes with blood red pupils.

"What do you think he'll try, Neo?" Sasuke asked his Mechanical partner.

"I have met Silver once before." He said, "He'll most likely try to change the future so that this pathetic little world will live in peace."

"How can we stop him?"

"We won't have to." He smirked.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"We're going to let the past handle that."

His eyes began blinking, as if to signal something. Sasuke smiled very evilly.

XXXXX

"You shouldn't have gone off on your own again, Silver!"

Silver's wounds were being treated by Sakura in the hidden gathering base of the Konoha Freedom League. This group was the only force left to stand against Sasuke and Neo Metal Sonic after the world had been overthrown by them. How that was possible is incredibly unknown, but not only did they desperately try to stop them, they also sought an answer to why it happened in the first place.

Its members consisted of Sakura, Shikamaru, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, Neji, Rock Lee, Hinata, Temari, Blaze and Silver. It was a small group, but they were forced to make the best of it. There were some other members of this crew, as were they expecting more.

Shikamaru had vowed to protect Kurenai and Asuma's daughter, Suki Yuhi. She had black hair and crimson eyes like her mother, and she often dressed like her when she led Team 8. One would even think she was a smaller Kurenai. Her parents were killed by their horrifying adversaries, so Shikamaru was the only thing closest to a father she had left.

Hinata and Temari were both pregnant. Hinata had longer hair and looked like she would be due any day now. She was carrying twins. She wore a common housewife's dress that seemed to resemble the color of her jacket when she was younger. But instead of being shy, she was often sad and scared. She did not want to give birth knowing this was the world they would know their whole lives. Temari still had a ways to go, but she was just as scared as Hinata. She wore a black overdress that had the skirt reach down to her knees. Shikamaru was her child's father, but she was miserable since both of her brothers died trying to defeat this monstrous duo. Everyone was horribly sad since their beloved heroes and friends died to fight a noble cause, but to no prevail.

"I'm sorry." Silver sulked. "I really want to save this world, that's all."

"It's far too late for that." Neji said. "We were all destined to die like this and nothing will ever change that."

"But there has to be some way we can save everyone!" Silver replied. "We should still have some kind of chance!"

"Just as a lotus wilts," Lee said, incredibly depressed, "so too, must a noble story come to an end." He looked back at Silver. "There's nothing we can do."

"We lost…" Temari sulked, with tears pouring from her eyes. "Everyone we know and love is gone. Our family, our friends, even Naruto Uzumaki and my brothers are gone. We're the only ones left. There is no alternative."

Shikamaru pulled her and Suki in for a hug. They both cried along with Temari and the others. "Mister Shikamaru…" Suki sobbed, "I miss my mom!"

"We've all lost." Sakura said. "It's hopeless…" She began to fall to her knees and hug Silver as tears rained from her eyes. "Naruto…" she sniffled, "I wish you were here…" Silver returned the hug and finally admit defeat.

"If only Sonic were here…" Blaze said.

"Yeah…" Silver replied. "Gosh, I haven't seen him since I went back in time to-" he widened his eyes at this.

"THAT'S IT!"

They all stared at him.

"Neji!" Silver called. "Hand me your Chaos Emerald!"

Neji did just that as he threw the Red Chaos Emerald to him.

Silver charged his energy, with Chaos Emeralds in both hands, and then performed "**Chaos Control**!" as he crossed his arms.

Then, a spiraling portal appeared behind him, and he urged Blaze by saying, "You coming?"

"What do you plan to do?" Konohamaru asked him.

"I'm gonna head back in time to when Sonic was alive!" Silver declared. "I'm gonna change the future!"

"It will do you no good." Neji softly scoffed. "We were destined to end up like this and you it."

"But it's not hopeless!" Silver declared. "It is possible to change history!"

"Silver's right." Blaze agreed. "We don't know what will happen if we don't try."

"I agree with Blaze." Lee said. "And I wish you two the best of luck."

"Mister Silver!" called out the other two Genin of Konohamaru's team.

"Take this with you!" Moegi and Udon said as they placed a robot into Blaze's arms. Its armor appeared to be colored orange, and it had blue eyes. It also had a panel on its forehead that seemed like a horn or mask.

"Where did you two find that?!" Sakura shrieked.

"Actually," Konohamaru confessed, "I found it while exploring the lost ruins of the city…I figured maybe we could fix him somehow."

"What were you doing outside?!" Temari barked, "You know it's dangerous out there!"

"Temari, relax!" Shikamaru panicked, "Think of the baby!"

"Please…" a soft voice finally spoke.

Everone turned their attention to Hinata.

"Please, Silver…" she sobbed, "Change this ruined world…" Silver walked up to her. "Please…" she said. "Bring Naruto back to us…Make this world for our children." She knelt over as best as she could until she was on both knees. Silver gave her a hug. As he rubbed her large stomach, he declared, "I swear on the life of your unborn children, Hinata, that I will repair this destroyed world." He felt them moving as his hand was still there. It was as if Hinata's babies were wishing him the best of luck. Then, he let a huge smile across his face and gave everyone thumbs up.

"The nice-guy look." Lee thought.

"Let's go, Silver." Blaze said with the robot still in her arms.

Silver gave Hinata one last hug before leaping through the portal with Blaze following behind.

"Good luck, Silver." whispered Sakura.

XXXXX

"Brace Yourselves, Everybody!" Eggman shouted, "It's gonna blow!"

Soon the entire room was enveloped in the flash. It continued until the entire base was enveloped in the Light. When the light faded, everyone in Dr. Eggman's base was gone.

As soon as the light cleared, the time portal opened, and Silver and Blaze leapt out. They looked around. Silver went to the Chaos Control machine, while Blaze went to the data computer. She looked at the monitor before saying, "Looks like the coordinates are already set."

"And the machine is still functional." Silver replied. "It looks as if it was used recently."

"Chaos Control can send anyone and anything through Time and Space, correct?"

"Yes." He looked at the generator. "There are seven slots here. I guess he used them all to power it."

"Well, it's a good thing we got the benefit." She typed in the manual of the machine. "Though he only needed one of the Emeralds to send them to the Leaf Village."

"The Leaf Village is in another dimension aside from this one, right?"

She nodded.

"How did he manage that?"

"That only adds to the mystery we must solve."

"Well, I'm putting one of them in the generator." He said. "We might need the other one."

Blaze nodded, as he placed the Red Emerald and turned on the machine.

The loop within the ring began to glow a very distinct color before showing an image of the Village they were hoping for.

"Let's go!" he said as they leapt through.

XXXXX

Before a second, a Shockwave appeared and Silver and Blaze found themselves in a forest. They hid within bushes and trees to make sure no one would see them.

"Do you think we made it?" Silver asked Blaze.

"I'm not sure yet."

"Come on, Akamaru!" shouted a voice. "Double the marking style!"

"Bark, Bark!"

Then they saw a boy leaping through the trees across from them. He seemed to be walking his puppy, and by "walking" I mean getting his dog to pee on trees while in midair. Blaze was disgusted by this, but Silver saw close enough to the boy to see that he was wearing a Konoha headband. The metal protector had the symbol of a leaf on it, and Silver realized.

"This is the place," He looked to their right, "and there's the village."

"Great. Let's hurry!"

"Why are you in such a rush?"

"Just in case you didn't notice," she replied sarcastically, "I kind got a thing against dogs."

"Oh." He said as he shrugged and rubbed his head.

XXXXX

As they entered the village, they decided to make a quick review of their strategy.

"You take the robot to Sonic." Silver said, referring to the robot still unconscious in her arms. "I'll take a look around and see if I can't get any information."

"Got it." She said. "Be careful, Silver." She leapt in the direction of the directory and find out where Sonic was residing. Silver walked through the village and took note of how beautiful it was. Then, he thought of Hinata, Sakura and the rest of the Freedom League. He remembered that they all counted on him, and wanted to live the world while it was still in this condition. "This place is beautiful." He said to himself.

"I must fight to save this." Then he closed his eyes and thought of Sasuke Uchiha, the bastard who destroyed his world before he was born. He met with Sonic on a previous occasion to handle another felon named Eggman Nega, who wanted to conquer that world himself. He held his hand up and clenched his fist. "I will find that Sasuke Uchiha…" then he looked to the sky, and thought, "…and I'm gonna destroy him."

While he was still looking in the sky, he saw the familiar shape of the Egg Mobile heading towards the office of the Hokage, the office of Tsunade. Silver gasped and rushed toward the building, using his feet, and using his Psychokinesis to manipulate his feet, moving him faster.

XXXXX

Tsunade had just finished filing a report on the Castle that Eggman had taken residence in the Land of Wind. She realized it would have to be breached eventually. She looked out into the sky through the window behind her, and wondered if the Sand shinobi were doing all right with their new companions.

She was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Enter!" she said.

As the door opened, she heard the voice she wanted to hear least.

"Hello again, Lady Tsunade." Eggman smirked.

He was alone this time because his henchbots were rebuilding the castle that a certain black hedgehog destroyed.

"Naruto's not here." She replied nonchalantly, "He went on another mission recently. So scram, I'm a busy girl."

"I just came to make a proposition."

Tsunade sighed. "Whaddya want?"

"Hand Naruto to me, and I will leave your village in peace."

Silver, who arrived just in time, stood outside the door, hoping to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"And what makes you think I'll agree to that?"

"I'll cut to the chase." Eggman cleared his throat. "You see…One of my robots _got loose_ recently." Eggman explained, "He has the power to copy abilities and make them his own. He even obtained the power of Chaos Control one day and found he could see into dimensions, as well as transport through them."

Silver blinked upon hearing this.

"There's a certain boy out there whom he sees has great potential." He continued. "Someone whom he sees evil enough to surpass the Sannin and the Five Kage combined. He wants this boy in order to rule all dimensions and meld them into his own perfect world."

"And you know this, because…?"

"I used one of the parts to build him to power my Chaos Control Teleporter." He then shook his head. "I need Naruto so I can stand up to him and stop him. I could care less about ruling another dimension. As long as I rule Mobius before he does, what else do I need?"

Tsunade and Silver grunted.

"So you wanna take Naruto so you can rule the world before someone else does…" Tsunade said as she placed a finger to her lip, and looked up in thought as well as sarcasm. "Go find yourself another sucker; I'm not interested in your offer."

"I was hoping you'd say that." He pointed outside the window to note that the Egg Mobile was flying by itself high above the city. "My Egg Mobile is in Auto Pilot right now, and it has deadly Quantum Lasers in its Fingers. Not only will it burn a living being to shreds, it will also incinerate a building."

Tsunade glared back at Eggman.

"You do have a choice, though." Eggman replied. Either hand him to me when he returns…or I'll blow your village to smithereens."

Tsunade laughed at this. "I have a better Idea." Eggman eyed her expectantly. "Why don't we make it a gamble?"

Silver was completely dumbfounded.

"If I win, you may go in peace like you came. If you win, you may have Naruto."

"Deal." He replied with a smirk.

She reached into the cleavage of her giant breasts and pulled out three dice. She also pulled out a bowl from behind herself.

She shuffled the dice within the bowl and cupped it onto the table bottom side up.

Eggman viewed this feat with intrigue.

"So which do you call, Odd or Even?"

Eggman thought for a second, before Tsunade said…

"Wait a second." Eggman looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why don't we make this more interesting?" Eggman grinned as she pulled out a suitcase. Inside was an entire lifetime's worth of Money. "Do you have anything to match this?"

"Even." He said. "Plus, I'll call your bet," Eggman said as he pulled his own suitcase out. Inside was a series of Golden Rings. "And I'll raise you twice as much."

Tsunade grinned and giggled like a cheerful schoolgirl. "You're on, Egghead."

"Oh, and one more thing…"

Tsunade and Silver blinked.

"I'm looking forward to ruling the world…Miss Legendary _Sucker_!"

"Crap." She said with a stunned expression.

"I _just_ got here," Silver thought, "and _now_ the Village is gonna be destroyed?! I can't let her lose!" Then he closed his eyes, concentrated his energy and thought, "**Psycho Path**!" and on that, he could instantly see into the bowl. One of the dice was 1, the second was 3, and the third was 5. Then he twiddled his fingers with **Psychokinesis** to move the 1 in position for a 2. Then he shut off the Psycho Kinesis and sighed in relief.

Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon were running through the halls trying to catch a butterfly. The other two continued after the butterfly, but Konohamaru saw Silver. This could _not_ be worse timing.

"Hey you!" he called out, causing Silver to jump in astonishment. "Aren't you that Hedgehog guy who saved the village the other day?"

Silver gestured his fingers to shush the kid, but unluckily for him, Konohamaru was an even bigger brat than Naruto.

"You think you can shush me like yer the boss of me?!" he shouted, "I'm Konohamaru, the Hidden Leaf's Number One Rookie Underdog!"

"You're gonna be Konohama-_dead_, the Hidden Leaf's Smoldering Pile of Ash if you don't get out of here!" he beckoned, "Dr. Eggman's inside-"

"What're _you_ gonna do?!" he shouted, ignoring his warning, "Flatten me like a Pancake with your feet?! Ha! Kiss my Ass!"

"Who said that?!" Eggman shouted, hearing the whiny kid's voice better than Australia could.

"Crap." Silver said. "You've gotta go, now!" He ran towards Silver and tried to pick him up, but Konohamaru struggled like a rabid dog before Eggman opened the door.

Tsunade saw that Silver was wrestling the snotty kid to the ground before Eggman, who saw Silver and was mad.

"You!" he shouted. "You're that Psycho Boy!"

"Crap." Silver said, "I'm Outta here!" he said again as he began running outside the halls.

"You're not getting away from me!" Eggman shouted.

Silver headed out the door and jumped from the stairs, using levitation to slow his fall. He then headed toward the exit. "I bet I can lure him away from the village if I keep running." He thought.

Eggman headed for the roof while Konohamaru raised an eyebrow, having no idea what just happened. Tsunade, on the other hand, looked under the bowl, which Eggman didn't bother to do. She had won the gamble. She also took the suitcase Eggman carelessly left behind and placed it next to hers. She sighed in relief because Naruto was saved, and so was her village. She felt that white hedgehog had part in saving her, since Eggman called him a "Psycho Boy," presumably meaning he had psychic powers. Silver really saved her skin there, she felt.

XXXXX

Kurenai was simply strolling through the village, since she finished shopping for groceries. She locked her door and decided to make a visit with Asuma for a friendly talk, but something caught her attention. A white hedgehog running through the streets as if trying to flee from something. She raised an eyebrow before realizing that the Egg Mobile, piloted by (Guess Who) was chasing him. She noticed he was shooting fiercely at him and decided to look into it.


	7. Not so Private Investigators

Chapter 7: Not-so-Private Investigators

You know what they say. A life of crime never pays. In the world of Mobius, there are heroes, like Sonic, and there are villains, like Dr. Eggman. But that is not the only case. I could even imply a pun within that last statement, because sometimes crime tries to escape from the law, which exists no matter where you are. Only one team of Mobian Private Investigators can sleuth these crimes and track down their source.

Unfortunately, we've got these guys.

It was a simple day in the Chaotix detective house. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the bees were buzzing, and the team's three members were taking a day off from business. They had no other choice, because crime was short these days. Dr. Eggman was a megalomaniacal scientist bent on world conquest, so he was too obvious, and thus, didn't count. They needed business, and soon, because things were pretty sloppy in their residence and they quite needed the money to fix that.

Vector is the team's leader. He was a large muscular crocodile who wore black sweatbands and shoes. He also wore a pair of headphones atop his head, making the assumption that he likes music. He was the leader, but he was also a major bonehead, since his brash and melodramatic nature got them into more fixes than out of them. But make no mistake that he is a very impressive sleuth.

Espio is the team's shadow. He is a chameleon with skin of a light shade of purple. He also had banded braces on his wrists and ankles. He had a pouch for kunai and shuriken, so he must be a ninja. He was of very calm nature and mind and mostly preferred to meditate. In fact, he might even be the sole competent member of the team. He never stuck his tongue out at people. Just the occasional fly.

Charmy is the team's scout. He is a bee who wears a vest, helmet and goggles as if he were a pilot. He didn't care much for work, only to play when it was convenient. That seemed to be a lot, considering he is six years old. That being said, he has a young and childlike nature. But he was quite aware of any mission he was given, and would carry it out for the sake of the team…even if Vector came up with it.

"Okay, listen up, boys!" Vector declared, as Charmy sat in a chair and Espio only glanced over at Vector's desk. "Due to current standards and case records of late," he began with optimism, "profits are incredibly low." He sulked.

"We need a case, and fast!" Charmy shouted. "I haven't had honey on my bread since the last time we _got_ bread!"

"You just need a little patience," Espio said, "that's all. Something will turn up eventually."

"You've been going on with this whole 'patience' thing for weeks, Espio!" Vector shouted angrily. "The only thing patience is gonna get us is a one way ticket out of this dump!" He looked around in the house and sighed. "And I've really grown attatched to said dump…"

"Why don't we get part-time jobs or something?" Charmy asked, "After all, there are plenty of guys that could use our talents!"

"Nah," Vector sighed, "I've waited too long for that phone to ring…" he sighed again and sat down on the sofa with a deep frown. "I guess it's time we turned in our badges, boys…"

"Don't give up now, Vector!" Charmy reassured, "You're still at the top of your game!" He buzzed over to Espio, "C'mon, Espio, say something to him!"

"Vector," Espio said, "You are a total nutcase, but I've never seen you give up."

He walked over to Vector and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Things will turn up eventually, you'll see." He glanced over at the telephone next to the window. "If you just put your mind to it, and concentrate, something good will surely happen. Just think about what makes you really happy, that phone over there may just ring."

Just as he finished his motivational speech, the telephone began to ring furiously. Everyone blinked as Vector rushed over.

"Awesome!" Charmy shouted, "Espio's a psychic!" Charmy looked at him with cheer and thrust his arms in the air. Well, further, because he was already hovering in midair. "Now say 'Candy will grow from that tree outside'!" Espio rolled his eyes.

"Chaotix Agency, you call it, we solve it!" Vector answered a second before saying, "Oh Vanilla, Hi!"

Over at Cream's house, Vanilla, her mother was washing dishes. She had a little more top hair than Cream, and wore a much longer dress. Aside her was Chocola, Cheese's Chao brother, who had brown skin and a blue bowtie. He helped out around the house while the other two were gone. Vanilla called Vector asking for a favor.

"Hello, Vector." She said, "I was wondering if you could do something for me."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Vector declared as he blushed profusely. "You just say it and I'm there!"

"Well, Cream and Cheese have gone out to help Sonic and his friends stop Dr. Eggman in his base, and I haven't seen her since. Would you be a dear and see if she's all right?"

"You've got it, Ma'am!" he shouted mindlessly. "All we need is the smile on your face for seeing the safety of your daughter to-"

Then, Espio rushed over and clamped Vector's big mouth, realizing the mistake he was about to make.

"Actually," he said with a nervous grin, "We've been stuck in a rut lately, so we were wondering if we could by chance, have a reward if we evaluate the situation."

"Oh," she replied, "I guess I could reward you." She looked over at Chocola before saying, "Just please make sure she is safe, okay?"

"You got it." He said. "And don't worry about a thing."

He hung up the phone before Vector released Espio's grip on his moth and shouted, "We have a new case!" Then he pointed to the front door. "Come on, boys! To Dr. Eggman's base!"

"Well it's good to see he's back to normal." Charmy said sarcastically.

XXXXX

"I'm putting one of them in the generator." Silver said. "We might need the other one."

Blaze nodded, as he placed the Red Emerald and turned on the machine.

The loop within the ring began to glow a very distinct color before showing an image of the Village they were hoping for.

"Let's go!" he said as they leapt through.

Hours later, Vector, Espio and Charmy showed up in the very same room. It would have taken them longer if any of Eggman's robots weren't engulfed in that light.

"Whaddya suppose this machine's for?" Vector wondered, as he studied the machine.

"It's a teleporter that utilizes the power of Chaos Control." Espio stated as he typed information about the machine. "And another machine part allows travel to vary between dimensions."

"Look!" Charmy shouted, "There's a Chaos Emerald in this thing!"

"I assume it's used to power that thing." Espio replied, turning back.

"There're even seven slots in here." Vector said, "I guess he used them all to power this thing up."

"Ooooooo…" Charmy said, eying the power switch, "What does this do?"

"Charmy, don't touch-"

He touched it.

"-that." Vector was overcome with awe as he saw the portal glow, and then show the image of the destination.

"Where does this thing go?" he asked.

"Its coordinates are set in a place called 'The Village Hidden in the Leaves.'"

"Sounds like some kind of fancy tea shop." Charmy said, nonchalantly.

"Well, this thing was used twice recently." Espio said as he walked over to the portal. "I bet Cream's in there, waiting for us to tell her about her mother."

"Well," Vector finally declared, "We ain't getting' anywhere standin' here!"

"Let's go." Espio agreed. "But proceed with caution."

The two reptiles walked into the portal, while a certain bee waited a few minutes before turning to the Chaos Emerald in the generator.

He opened the case and took it out. "Y'never know when we'll need this." Charmy thought to himself, then rushed into the portal as it closed.

XXXXX

The teleportation was a success, and they landed directly within the forest outside the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Do ya think we landed in the right place?" Charmy asked, a little dizzily.

"I'm not quite sure." Espio replied.

"Well, we're in a forest…" Vector remarked, "I guess we gotta follow that-"

"Out of my way!!" shouted a white hedgehog as he shoved through the three, causing them to fall over and for Charmy to drop the Chaos Emerald in his possession.

"Ch-Charmy!" Vector shouted upon the Emerald's notice. "Did you smuggle that from the machine?!"

"Heheheh…" Charmy chuckled nervously, "I guess I kinda snuck it as soon as we went through the teleporter…"

"Well, on one hand," Espio remarked, "All seven of the Emeralds are in this dimension, but now we can't get back to our own dimension without a machine just like that."

"Well that's just-"

""Quick! Hide!" Charmy shouted as he buzzed to the bushes.

Vector and Espio did just that as they saw the Egg Mobile coming. Good thing, too, because Dr. Eggman didn't notice them.

"What's that slimeball doin' here?!" Vector barked.

"I dunno." Charmy said with a dumb expression on his face.

Espio then took notice of a girl leaping through the trees in pursuit of Eggman. She was fast, but Espio managed to take note of the headband she was wearing. It had the symbol of a Leaf on its metal protector.

"Well, whaddya know." He said, "We landed right on our mark."

"What makes you so sure?" Charmy said.

"I saw someone pass by here." Espio replied, "She wore a headband with what I assume was the village's symbol."

"You sure about that?" Vector raised an eyebrow.

"If we go in the direction opposite to where Dr. Eggman came from I bet we'll find it."

"Well, what're we waitin' for?!" Charmy declared, "We've got a case to solve!"

"Actually…" Espio shrugged, "It's not really a case. We're just looking for Cream so her mother can know she's alright."

"But we've gotta find somebody!" Vector noted, "And it pays, so that makes it a case!" He pointed his finger out to the direction they were headed. "Let's go!"

"Yes sir!" Charmy cheered.

Espio sighed.

XXXXX

When the detectives reached the village, they took in the view of the opening and the people within it before they entered the village and decided to ask around for information about Cream. They couldn't help but notice that those living inside the village were ninjas, just like Espio. They brushed that off, as they decided to look around. After all, a rabbit with a Chao at her side wasn't very hard to find.

"Well, guess we'd better start lookin' boys!" Vector declared.

"Yeah!" Charmy agreed. "All we have to do is ask around for a rabbit with a little flying guy at her side."

"Sounds just as easy as it looks." Espio nodded. "We should split up so we can cover more ground."

"Good idea, Espio." Vector agreed. "You go to the right, Charmy will go left, and I'll go straight forward."

"Roger!" They both said as they set off.

Like they agreed, they did go in separate directions. And as expected, the results turned out the same: They've all met Cream, yet they haven't seen her recently. The results were the same, yet they experienced them differently.

Espio went to a water pond and asked about her to a guy wearing a vest who laid there and stared up at the clouds. After getting the required answer, he went to report back to Vector, but something caught his attention: An area that seemed to be off limits to all individuals. It was symbolized by an image of a paper fan. He decided to look into it to see if there was any other information about this town that they didn't know about.

Charmy asked a girl with blonde hair at a flower shop. He took the liberty to sniff the flowers at said shop, and wanted to buy some. Realizing he didn't have the money, he decided to work at that shop for it. The irony of it all caught peoples' attention and they came rushing in. The girl was pleased by the business rush and gave him double the pay roll. Charmy bought three flowers and thought about where to spend his paycheck next.

Vector asked a kid who was pigging out at a grill restaurant. Vector was a big eater, too, so he decided to challenge the kid's appetite. Unfortunately, the kid's sensei was paying the bill and he wasn't too happy about it. Vector won, but fell unconscious from indigestion, and was shipped to the hospital.

"Vector…" Espio groaned. "You can't let your competitive nature or your appetite get the better of you. We're on a mission!"

"Sorry…" Vector said. "I guess I got a little carried away."

"I covered the bill for that Asuma guy." Charmy said. "And, I got these for ya." He placed the flowers in the nearby vase.

"How'd you get the money to pay for those?" Espio wondered.

"I got it at a little flower shop." He smiled. "It's a bit of a coincidence that the girl who runs it was also his student."

"Not really." Vector said as he pointed to the door.

And at the door was Shizune with the medical charts as well as All of Team 10 coming to see the guys who asked them about the same girl.

"Hey, Detective Vector." Said Asuma. "I thought I'd like to thank you for covering my bill as well as apologize on behalf of Choji here." Choji shrugged, Ino winked at Charmy and Shikamaru gave the casual "Meh."

"Hehehehe." Vector giggled, "It's no problem. We're just here to do our job, that's all." Espio and Charmy sighed.

"We also thought," Ino added, "That we'd bring you a few visitors."

At the door showed up the traditional Team Rose, made up of course, Amy, Big and Cream.

"Just the kids we were lookin' for!" Vector declared.

"Vector," Amy asked nonchalantly, "When did you get here?"

"We arrived not too long ago." Espio replied. "We were looking for Cream…" he closed the mouth of Vector, who was about to speak yet again, "…so we could pass a message from her mom."

"Oh," Cream said, "My mama sent you?"

"Well, actually," Charmy said, double-checking Espio, holding Vector's mouth shut. "We were sent to Dr. Eggman's base, so we could see what happened, and then we found that Chaos Control thingy, and used it a third time, so we-"

"What do you mean 'a third time'?" Amy barked.

"It was used twice before we came into this realm." Espio replied. "I assume it was that white hedgehog we saw earlier."

"White hedgehog…" Amy thought, "Wait! You don't mean Silver, do you?!"

"Could be…" Vector said, finally releasing the grip on his mouth. "We never met the guy, so we wouldn't know."

"What a drag…" Shikamaru said, "How many more dimensional nutjobs are we gonna get." Amy glared at him. "Relax, I meant Eggman." She squinted at him.

"So what did my mama want?" Cream finally asked.

"She was really worried about you…" Charmy replied, "So she just wanted us to tell ya to come home soon."

"That's good to hear…" Big said, "But now we're all stuck here…"

They all hunched over.

"Well, your stomach is as stable as Choji's," Shizune remarked, "So you'll be out of here within the hour."

"That's good." Espio replied. "It looks like we'll be here a while, so can you set us up with a residence while we're here?"

"I'll ask Lady Tsunade about it right away." She smiled.

"That's good."

As they were walking out, Espio stopped them so he could apply a bit more information.

"What can you tell me about these people?"

He handed them a photograph of a simple family. A mother, a father, and two brothers. They had black hair and black eyes.

"W-Where did you get this?" she asked in a concerning tone of voice.

"From your tone of voice, I'd say it's important." He said. "It flew by me In the wind as I passed by some abandoned part of the village."

"That information is strictly classified by order of the village!" she shouted nervously.

"O-okay." He was shocked by her reply.

"Sorry…" she said sadly, "the youngest in this picture left our village recently, and another in this picture is a very dangerous assassin…"

The three blinked at this.

"Another boy in this village wants to find him very desperately, but we advise against it." Asuma replied.

"How come?" Charmy wondered.

"It's practically suicidal."

They all gulped.

"Well, let me hold onto it for awhile." Vector said. "It could be an important clue in our case."

She looked at him and the photo and hesitated.

"Don't worry!" he reassured. "It's all part of bein' a good detective."

She nodded and gave him the picture.

XXXXX

Within the hour, Vector was feeling better and Tsunade had bought them a new apartment, thanks to a certain mustachioed moron.

As Vector laid back on his new, if not temporary sofa, he laid back and said:

"Ahhhhhh…This is the life, boys."


	8. New Ally to the Leaf

Chapter 8: New Ally to the Leaf

Sonic has spent more than a few lazy days within the Leaf Village, often enjoying himself in the Ramen Shop, or running around the world more to see what the sights give. Yet another similarity he plays to Naruto, is that when he is given a mission, he snubs it if he finds it too easy, angering Tsunade more often than people would want. Though they can agree on one thing, if there are any clues to Dr. Eggman or Orochimaru related, they won't back down any time soon.

Sonic came back to lend some help to Tails in building…whatever it was he was building up to this point. Chris helped in that department as well, but they were rather unaware, they were getting a new visitor.

"How's that project coming along, Tails?" Sonic asked as he opened the door.

"I'm not done just yet!" Tails replied hastily, "Can't you wait just a little while longer?"

"What's so important about it that it's gotta be kept secret?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Well," Chris said, walking up to him with a toolkit, "Tails wants his machine to be kept a surprise until we finish it and we get all the Chaos Emeralds."

"We don't even know if they're all here." Sonic said, unimpressed.

"If one's here, then the rest gotta be as well." Chris smiled, "I heard Vector's got one, and that the Hidden Sand Village has another."

"I guess you're right." Sonic admitted. Then he glanced over at Tails. "Just don't keep us waiting, too long."

"All right," Tails still hesitated, "Just don't talk to me. It'll get the job done faster."

Then, a knock came to the door, and Chris answered it. Sonic came as well, to see a familiar fiery cat with a robot in her arms at their doorstep.

"I want to ask you a favor." Blaze said.

XXXXX

"This should be far enough." Silver thought as he reached an open clearing in the forest.

He ran to one spot in the clearing and stood facing the opposite direction so he could accept his opponent and face it. On that, the Egg Mobile showed up right o the mark and pointed its fingers at Silver. Eggman stood up and decided to lower his vehicle to properly confront the 'enemy'.

"I didn't expect you to come and cause me trouble, Silver." He duly noted.

"Whatever you or Metal Sonic are planning," Silver replied, "it will end in shambles." He pointed out to him, "I will see to it that it does!"

"I don't think you're in the proper position to negotiate." Eggman scoffed, "I'm not sure what happened in your future, but it will result with me upon the world's throne." He sat back down. "So if you don't want him to ruin your world, I would be glad to accept you as my subordinate."

"Why would I agree to that?"

"Because if you don't, Silver, that will result in the same way that has always been." He clenched his fist, "With an undefeatable entity ruling and the world's inhabitants defenseless to stop it."

Silver glared, and then looked down in shame. "They're all depending on me."

"And they can." He gestured his fingers as if asking Silver to come towards him. "All you have to do is trust me."

Silver thought for a minute, and realized it was a tough decision. Eggman was a psychotic maniac who would throw the world into ruin, but he wasn't nearly as dangerous as Metal Sonic. In fact, he built Metal Sonic. He could even devise a way to defeat him. He was the only one who knew how. Silver thought, and then came to a conclusion:

"Thanks, but no thanks." He looked up. "I'll find the answer on my own."

"Suit yourself." Eggman acknowledged, but aimed his lasers at Silver. "But don't think this means I'll forgive you for your little intrusion earlier."

Silver charged his Psychokinesis on a nearby cluster of rocks to fight back, but before they could begin, a mild tornado began blowing around Eggman. There were leaves within it, and he began to feel slightly dizzy.

"W-What's going on, here?!" he reacted.

"Strange weather we're having," Silver smirked, "isn't it, Eggman?"

"Y-you!" he replied as the wind began to clear. "What are _you_ doing here, Sonic?!" Eggman shouted to Sonic, standing next to Silver, who looked around in sheer confusion. He could not see him.

"Have you lost it?" he replied, "Sonic's not-"

"You're not gonna get away from me!" he shouted as Sonic stuck his tongue and eye at him. He speeded off, and Eggman gave chase.

"Where are you going?!" Silver called, still confused, "Sonic's _not_ here!!"

"Exactly." whispered a voice from the bushes. A woman with black hair and red eyes with the Leaf headband peeked out, gesturing Silver to follow her. Silver, still confused, looked around, and pointed to himself.

"Yes, you." She replied, "Come on."

"What's going on here?"

"I'll explain on the way back to the village. Come on!"

Silver shrugged his shoulders and admit defeat. He rushed over to the bushes and headed back to the village.

XXXXX

"So what brings you here?" Sonic asked Blaze as she entered the door.

"I would like you to fix this robot…" she replied as she placed him on the wall. "If you can, that is."

"Hey Tails!" Sonic called, "Why don't ya take a break for a while?"

"What's so important that I should stop working on this?" he hesitated yet again.

"Come and see for yourself."

Tails pulled his head from the sheets covering his project and went over.

"It doesn't have Dr. Eggman's symbol," Blaze solemnly said, "so I thought maybe we could use him on our side." She gestured the robot as Tails came in. And quite frankly, the robot looked all too familiar to Tails, Sonic and Chris.

"Emerl!" Tails referred to the robot as.

"You named him already?" Blaze queried.

"We knew him once before!" Chris replied. "He's a project from several years ago who can merge with the seven Chaos Emeralds and copy the abilities of those who can fight."

"It looks like he won't be doing that anymore." Tails replied as he opened the compartment on his chest to see certain qualities very badly damaged. "I can fix him to a great extent, but there are those two features that are beyond even _my_ prowess."

"Why's that?" Blaze asked.

"You tell me." He replied nonchalantly. "I didn't exist over fifty years ago. Living fifty years from _now_ won't change a thing."

"Speaking of which," Sonic said as he turned over to Blaze "if you're here, doesn't that mean Silver's here as well?"

"Yes." She replied. "He went around asking for information." She looked out the window. "I just hope he hasn't gotten into trouble. He's very naïve."

"Well, why didn't he just ask Lady Tsunade?" he replied.

"Who?" Blaze raised an eyebrow.

"The village's Hokage." Chris answered. "The leader. She runs things around here and keeps track of all the village's goings-on as well as those outside the village."

"Let's go find him, so we can ask her ourselves." Sonic stated. "Chris, you stay here and see if you can't help Tails in fixing Emerl."

"Can do!" he said, spinning a wrench in his fingers.

"Let's go!" Blaze said as they went out the door.

XXXXX

"I get it now!" Silver replied as Kurenai was guiding him back to the village. As she leapt through the trees, Silver hovered through them with his Levitation. "What Eggman thought was Sonic was just an illusion!"

"Yes." She replied. "That is how Genjutsu works. To hypnotize the enemy into seeing what their minds want them to see." She sulked slightly. "It can be used for harmful purposes, but I'm against that completely."

"I know what you mean…" Silver lamented, "My Psychokinesis can even effect peoples' minds in that way, but I've never found a purpose for that like…and hopefully never will."

"One's eyes can fool them even without the use of Genjutsu." She replied. "Such as the Transformation Jutsu which turns one person into a splitting image of another."

"That sounds pretty complicated."

"It is, but if your eyes or your mind is perceptive, you can reveal the enemy from hiding and defeat them easier."

Silver raised an eyebrow.

"The point is that, even without Genjustsu, someone will still try to force your eyes in the wrong direction." She turned over to Silver, "You must never allow your eyes to deceive you."

Silver looked at her in a meaningful gaze in response to her advice, before turning away from her.

"What's the matter?"

"It's your eyes…" he replied as Kurenai frowned, "Don't get me wrong, your eyes are very pretty," she blushed at this, "But red for an eye color reminds me of…something that happened to me in my time."

"Well, don't allow it to get to you." She replied, "The past can be painful, but if you think about it the wrong way, you will never find happiness."

"That's easy for you to say…" Silver lamented, "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you…"

"Maybe not, but I do understand."

Silver turned to her.

"If something happens to one person, they will often try to avoid it whenever possible." She then leapt closer to him, as they came to a stop. "But there are two things that one can do when faced with difficult memories." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can run from it, or you can _learn_ from it."

Silver thought for a second, before looking into her eyes for ten seconds then hugging her, to her surprise.

"Your advice is very touching, Miss Kurenai." He said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were my own mother."

She returned the hug, and kissed him on the forehead, saying, "Well, you are a very smart boy, Silver." She stood up. "I know you'll learn from those memories for sure."

Silver nodded, and they both proceeded back to the village.

XXXXX

Silver and Kurenai had returned to the village just as Sonic and Blaze were about to set out to look for them. An awkward reunion indeed, but both parties benefit from it.

"Silver," Sonic greeted. "What a coincidence! We were just looking for you!"

"Sonic!" Silver said, "It's good to see you again!"

"You know each other?" Kurenai wondered.

"We fought to stop Eggman once before," Sonic replied. "In a way."

"Well, it's good to know we have another ally supporting our village." She smiled. "I'd best be going now. I've kept Asuma waiting too long for me."

"We'll see you around." said Blaze.

Kurenai walked off in another direction, while Sonic explained to Silver that they should see Tsunade if they need assistance or information. Silver remarked that Eggman tried to destroy the village to her face earlier and that Kurenai helped Silver lead him away from the village. Sonic, astonished, grateful and confused by all this could only say one thing:

"Since when does Tsunade gamble?"

They discussed the situation with Tsunade, who was thankful that Silver saved the village and made a lot of money to support it. She cashed the rings into the bank and got a Billion's worth of yen to provide for the village. Shizune was hoping that was the case, to which Sonic, Blaze and Silver sweat-dropped.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, a certain mustached shmuck was making repairs to his base. He was about to head to the hardware store to cash in some rings for dough to purchase the bread of his labors…when he realized his suitcase was still back in the Leaf Village, back with Tsunade and the morons he was about to destroy.

"**I HATE THAT HOKAGE**!!!!!"

XXXXX

Naruto as well as Team Guy had returned from a mission regarding a guy called Raiga who was one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen. Naruto attempted to ask him about two other members named Zabuza and Kisame, hoping to get clues about Sasuke, but it backfired. Naruto was upset, but didn't give up.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Silver were discussing the situation of the village and what they must do to solve it.

"So Eggman's up to his old tricks, I see." Silver commented.

"Yeah." Sonic said. "And I can't believe Metal Sonic might cause an uproar in your future."

"It has already happened…but I'm going to fix it." He looked back at his rival. "And I'll need your help."

"Consider it done!" Sonic stated. "But we'll have to worry about that later."

Silver nodded.

"I couldn't help but notice you were pretty slow before."

Silver rushed ahead, using his Psychokinesis to envelop his feet. "That was then. I doubt you'll beat me in the next race."

"You think you can count me out just yet?" Sonic smirked. "Mind powers are no match for true speed."

"What about Shadow?" Silver replied smugly. "He's got air shoes, you know."

"Yeah, but we've all got Chaos Control!"

"I guess you're right." He looked up to the central building. "I bet I can beat 'ya to Tsunade's office on foot!"

"You're on!" he replied as he took a head start, followed by Silver, who Psycho-fied himself to a neck-to-neck.

XXXXX

Up on the bleachers of Tsunade's building, Sakura and Amy were getting the chance to know each other better.

"So, Sakura?" Amy asked. "I couldn't help but notice that your hairstyle was very similar to mine."

"Y'know," Sakura said, looking at her, "You're right. It's the same color, too!"

"And we've both got green eyes, and a red-and-white dress!"

"You're right!" she agreed. "It truly is a small world after all.

"I can't remember the last time I went to Disney World…or ate at McDonalds." Amy thought to herself.

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it. It's not important." Amy looked out to the sky in glamour. "It truly is a beautiful place you've got here."

"Yeah…" Sakura agreed, taking in the view. "I hope we find Sasuke soon."

"Who's Sasuke?"

"He's a boy who once lived in this village. He's the sole survivor of one of our village's famous clans, but he sought out revenge for someone and to do so…" she started to cry.

"Don't cry, Sakura!" Amy reassured. "You've gotta be tough if you wanna see him again!"

Sakura wiped her tears upon hearing this.

"I bet you've got a special thing for this boy, don't ya?"

Sakura blushed.

"It's okay! You don't have to be shy about it!" she said with fire in her eye. "You've gotta be strong and let him know how you truly feel!" She paced around explaining. "You've gotta be tough if you wanna save him from trouble! And best of all," she turned over and winked at her. "You've gotta smile when you tell him how you feel."

Sakura sucked it up and put on her face of pride. "You're right, Amy!"

"What am I doing crying like a baby?! I should be out there showing Naruto and Sasuke just how strong I can be! I'll find Sasuke for sure!"

Amy smiled at her confidence.

"And most importantly, I'm gonna pulverize anyone who gets in my way!"

"LIKE THIS!" She shouted as she punched the wall, and to her surprise, it crumbled to pieces as it hit her fist, making the doorway much bigger.

"WOAH!" Amy remarked. "I never realized how strong you were, Sakura!"

"Me neither." She replied. "I guess I'm learning more from Master Tsunade than I thought."

"WOW, SAKURA! THAT WAS COOL!"

Amy and Sakura looked over at Naruto, who was amazed by the marvel of her newfound strength.

"Wow, Sakura!" she said. "I haven't seen strength like that since Lady Tsunade!"

Sakura blushed at this.

"You're getting a lot stronger every day, too." He replied. "You can already heal at a Seventh degree level, and you can knock a wall to smithereens."

"Master's going to be really mad at me for this…" she replied in a panic.

"Don't worry about it." Amy reassured. "I'm sure Tsunade will have some of those Jonin guys take care of it."

"Hey girls!" replied a familiar cocky blue hedgehog.

"Sonic!!!" Amy replied, happy to see her hero as she ran over to hug him.

"Amy, relax!" Sonic replied with embarrassment, "It's not like you gotta do this everyday, you know."

"It looks like a train hit here." noted Silver, who was looking at the giant rat hole.

"Sonic, who's this guy?" Naruto asked.

Sonic, who finally got Amy off him, said, "Sorry…This is Silver."

"Silver the Hedgehog!" he replied as he stood in a heroic pose.

"It's good to see you, Sakura." He said again.

Confused, Sakura said, "I don't think we've met…"

"Oh…" he stuttered, realizing he couldn't let on about the future to those who didn't know it. "Lady Tsunade told me about you. She says you're an exceptional student."

"Thank you!" she replied with a blush.

"No she di-" he was interrupted by Amy, who hit him with her hammer. "If Tsunade says Sakura's exceptional, then she's exceptional!"

"Hehehe…Sonic chuckled. "Well, we've got a race to keep up, so-"

Before Sonic could continue, a certain snake-like kunoichi arrived on the scene with Knuckles, Rock Lee, Neji, Tenten and Blaze at her side.

"Heya, rooks!" Anko smirked. "Have I got the proposition for you!"

XXXXX

In Tsunade's office, Anko's group took Sakura, Naruto, Silver, Sonic and Sakura in to access the situation.

"I've got very important news for you all."

"If it's another uber-easy mission, count me out!" Naruto replied.

"Same here!" Sonic agreed. "I've got better things to do than run errands!"

Tsunade was very angered by this remark, but Amy and Sakura smacked their respective morons over the heads.

"Please continue." They said in unison.

"Anyway," she cleared her throat, "It is very important for you to know that Dr. Eggman was seen in the Village Hidden in the Rain."

"All right!" Naruto shouted. "I get to beat some sense into that Egghead some more!" Sonic replied with, "When will he learn that he's outmatched?"

"I'm not done." She interrupted with a serious tone. "There's more."

Everyone looked intently at her.

"We've also gotten reports that rogue ninja have been seen in that same area."

They looked closer.

"They're Sound ninja."

Everyone gasped, except for the Mobians, who were instead confused.

"What's so scary about these Sound guys?" Sonic asked.

"They attacked our village before and killed our Third Hokage." Naruto said with anger.

"Their leader is of the Sannin, like Lady Tsunade here." Anko replied.

"He's a rogue who betrayed our ways and invented horrible forbidden jutsus." Sakura continued, "And he took Sasuke away from us."

Silver and Blaze blinked at this.

"His name…" Tsunade continued, "Is Orochimaru."

There was pure silence. This was very sad and serious silence. This was a horrible situation. Sonic then asked a question that was important for everyone to hear.

"Are Eggman and Orochimaru working together?"

Tsunade shook her head. "We don't know, but it can't be good if they do."

"We've gotta get there," Knuckles remarked, "And tear 'em up from the inside!"

"Kakashi and Guy have gone on ahead to set up a rendezvous point in the border to the Land of Rain. We'll expect your team, Anko, to meet them there within the next few days. If you guys are prepared then head out as soon as you can."

They all nodded.

"You are dismissed!"

XXXXX

Meanwhile, everyone's least favorite scientist was hatching yet another scheme. Only this time, he saw the situation, and decided to take the chance to nip this in the bud. He held a Purple Chaos Emerald into his hand, who knows where he got this one, and decided to see a certain person about putting it to use. He was one bad doc, and he knew someone even worse who could assist him in that matter…if he was interested, that is.

"A-A-A-Are you sure about this, Doctor?!" Decoe wailed.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes, Doctor!" Bocoe agreed, "This guy doesn't sound like he's a very reasonable guy."

"You'll see, boys." He smiled, holding the Emerald to his face, "He'll be unable to refuse this offer…Trust me."

The girls giggled as he proceeded to a mansion underground. Only one person could live in a place like that.

XXXXX

The Leaf heroes took no time to wait, as they quickly headed out as soon as they could. They all leapt through the trees, Anko, Team Guy, Naruto, Sonic, Amy, Sakura, Knuckles, Blaze and Silver as they headed to the Land of Rain with all haste. Naruto and Silver thought to themselves as they proceeded through this venture.

"Sasuke…" Naruto thought.

"Sasuke…" Silver thought.

"I'm gonna find you…" they thought at the same time.

"And I'm gonna save you!"

"And I'm gonna kill you!"


	9. The Sound of Destiny

Chapter 9: The Sound of Destiny

Sonic, Naruto and Anko's crew headed of to the Land of Rain to take care of business against the Land of Sound, who was up to their old tricks, yet again. And those tricks were never any good, because the deaths of innocents were the treats. They came here in hopes of finding Dr. Eggman, but now that they heard Orochimaru was involved, that made things better and worse. Better, because Naruto and Silver were searching for him, albeit different purposes, and worse, well I don't need to explain that to you now do I?

Meanwhile, Tails and Chris had finished repairing Emerl back in the Leaf Village.

"There!" Tails said. "Good as new."

"When do you think he'll head off to help Sonic?" Chris queried.

"I programmed a message into him to help Sonic and the others in the Land of Rain. But he'll have to rest in Standby mode for about an hour."

"What are you gonna do until he gets back?"

"I'm going to get back on my other project."

Chris nodded, as he looked back at Emerl in his bed one more time before heading back to help Tails.

XXXXX

In the Village Hidden in the Sand, Baki had received the message from Tsunade to send his team to assist Team Anko in the Land of Rain. If the mission was going to be this tough, they would need all the help they can get.

"Gaara! Temari! Kankuro!"

The three Sand shinobi stood up to their sensei to hear their following objective.

"I got this message from Lady Tsunade." He stated as he handed the message. "The shinobi of the Hidden Leaf will require your assistance in the Rain. Get there as soon as you can, and get there fast!"

"Yes Sir!" they confirmed.

"Hold the phone, Chief!"

They turned their attention over to the G.U.N Agents who were antsy to get into action. Rouge had just spoken.

"If someone needs our help…" she replied.

"Send law enforcements to apply assistance." Omega continued.

"Cause there's no way I'm lettin' Sonic have all the fun." Shadow finished with a smirk.

XXXXX

As Eggman piloted his vehicle through the dark underground, he let the candles lighting the halls lead his way to the one who owned it, the one who was more horrifying than any rogue in the universe, and the one whose name would send a city into panic if his name is invoked. Eggman had just entered his waiting room as I write.

"I've heard good things about you, Doctor." the voice inside spoke. "Now what makes you so important that you can enter my mansion unannounced?"

"I came to make an offer to you, my good sir." Dr. Eggman replied. "I knew you would be the person to seek for this arrangement, Orochimaru."

XXXXX

Vector, Espio and Charmy also took this liberty to consult Tsunade about the picture that Espio had found while looking for Cream. They knew the people in the photo were very important somehow, so the only way to find out just how important is to ask the one person who knew all there was to know about the village about it, ASAP. In fact, they knocked on her door at that very second.

"Enter." Tsunade said.

"On all terms, I consider my self a reasonable reptile, Ma'am." Vector said, "But in all cases, a detective's gotta have clues to lead them to the source of where a huge crime took place…or in this case in question, will take place."

"What can you tell us," Espio handed over the photo, "about the people in this picture?"

Tsunade gasped upon seeing this. "Where did you get-"

"That's not important." Espio interrupted. "What is so important about the family in this picture? I can sense suspicion, since I train in Ninjutsu, like you."

Tsunade looked deep into their firm expressions before sighing and taking in the loss. "Okay." She said. "Here's the deal."

XXXXX

Team Anko proceeded through the trees as quickly as their feet could carry them, or their power, for some people. The leader noticed that it was getting dark.

"We should rest up here for now." She said.

"Awwwwwwww!!!!!" Naruto whined. "We can't stop now!!! We gotta get over to the Land of Rain and stop Orochimaru!"

"And we will!" she replied. "We have to conserve our strength to face them properly."

"She's right, Naruto." Knuckles said. "Don't worry, Sonic'll keep watch. He's never one to stay asleep for long, that's for sure."

"Then it's settled." Anko confirmed. "We'll rest here for the night."

"And tomorrow," Silver said, "We continue our quest to stop Sas- uh, Orochimaru!"

Blaze looked at him with worry.

They proceeded to set up their tent and rest up for the night. Knuckles, Naruto, Tenten, Sakura and Amy went right to sleep, but Lee continued his ever-lasting training, while Neji, Sonic and Anko served as the night watch. Silver watched the night go by as well, but he had a different reason for it. Blaze wanted to talk to him about the current situation.

"Silver." She said as he turned to her.

"I know it's difficult, what you're going through, but we'll find another way to save the future." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Forget about revenge."

"You knew?" he asked skeptically.

"You can't hide anything from me, you know that."

"But why shouldn't I?" he asked. "He's already with Orochimaru. He joined him of his own accord. Sakura told me that."

"Silver," she pulled him in for a hug. "Revenge is not the answer. If you go through with it, what will it change?"

Silver shed a tear from his eye.

"It's getting late." She released him. "You should get some rest."

Silver took one last look at the night sky before heading back to the tent to sleep.

While Sonic and Anko were keeping watch, Sonic couldn't keep one thing off his mind and knew he had to ask her about it.

"Naruto's really dedicated to find this guy Sasuke, isn't he?"

"They are best friends." She smiled. "He made a promise to Sakura that he'd bring her back." She turned over to him, as he lay close to Sakura. "He really cares about her, and would do anything to see her smile again."

"Just who is Sasuke, anyway?" Sonic asked with a thoughtful expression.

"I guess I can't hide it, now." She replied as she looked back to the sky.

XXXXX

Sasuke is a member of an infamous clan in our village. The Uchiha clan. He was the youngest son of a man who fought in Konoha's police force, which was developed by that clan. He had an older brother named Itachi, whom he really looked up to. Though Itachi never had time to be with Sasuke when he wanted, he still acknowledged the sibling he loved and worshipped. Itachi graduated from the academy when he was 7 and became a Chunin at age 12. When Sasuke joined the academy, that's when things began to change. Itachi's best friend was found dead after committing suicide one day, but that was a ruse. There is a technique that runs in the Uchiha line, called "**Sharingan**" which allows its user to copy abilities of opponents. One could only enhance the technique into "**Mangekyo Sharingan**" if they apply one condition. They have to kill their best friend. Itachi then proceeded to kill the rest of the clan, but left Sasuke alive because he was inferior to him and would need power to avenge them. Sasuke continued to grow into an avenger, so he could one day kill his brother. He met Naruto and Sakura, and the three became Team 7. Sakura loved Sasuke and Naruto became his rival and best friend.

"That's a very surprising story, miss…" Vector replied to Tsunade.

"…But what does Orochimaru have to do with all of it?" Sonic queried Anko.

Orochimaru is one of the three Sannin who trained under the Third Hokage. He knew he was strange boy, but tried to avoid that. One day, he was found conducting strange experiments. He was mutating humans and formulating jutsus. He tried tirelessly to invent one forbidden technique, and he succeeded. He invented "**Immortality**." This jutsu has a drawback, though. It will only work once every three years and requires a human sacrifice. Sasuke is his next target. He had given him his mark a while back, knowing he'd come looking for power. Sasuke eventually gave in, because he had grown sick of Naruto becoming stronger than him. But before that, the Third performed a rare forbidden jutsu that severed half his soul, rendering his arms unusable. It brought him great pain, so he got impatient and took a body before Sasuke could come. Naruto risked his life to bring him home, but Sasuke is now within Orochimaru's grasp. Within the next three years, Sasuke will become Orochimaru.

"How do you know this?" Sonic asked in awe.

"For what reason do you know this about him?" Espio asked with intrigue.

Anko pulled down her shirt, making her curse mark visible and said, "Because he was my sensei."

Tsunade pulled out a photo, gave it to Espio and said, "Because he was my partner."

Realizing they had the information they needed for the time being, Vector, Espio and Charmy left it at that for now, and left.

Sonic felt a bigger understanding for Naruto than he did before. His best friend in the whole wide world was in the darkness, and only Naruto could save him. And even if he didn't want it, Naruto would risk everything to bring him back to the village…no, not the village. His home. His family. His friends. His team.

"Naruto knows that Sasuke is within the darkness." Neji said. "Only he can save him, and he will risk everything to do it."

Sonic acknowledged their words and said, "We should get to bed."

"Lee." Neji said. "Bedtime."

"Yes, Neji." He replied. "The Springtime of Youth shall proceed to summer when we find Orochimaru."

"Rest up, everybody." Anko said. "We've got a big day tomorrow."

XXXXX

The next day, they got an early rise so they could meet at the Rendezvous Point on the Leaf/Rain border. Naruto was a little groggy, as usual, but woke right up as he realized that Eggman and Orochimaru would be involved. Once they got to the point, they met up with Guy-Sensei and Kakashi-Sensei, and three other guests.

"Kiba! Shikamaru! Choji!" Naruto called out. "What are you doing here?!"

"We couldn't let you guys have all the fun," Kiba said, "while we sat on the sidelines and enjoyed the benefits!"

"Shikamaru was entrusted with guarding the Rendezvous Point." Kakashi said, snidely, "But it seems we are a little overcrowded here."

"Indeed you are right, Kakashi." Guy replied. "Some of us will have to go back and help defend the village while we're away."

"We've already got the ANBU Black-Ops to look after defenses while we're gone," Anko replied, "but they could use a little expert Backup."

"I was only required to look after the Rendezvous Point." Shikamaru noted. "My work here is done."

"I can beat up Eggman any day of the week." Knuckles stated. "I'll head back as well."

"Guy-Sensei." Neji stated. "Your skills will be required back in the village, as well, so you should return, too."

"Neji's right." Guy said. "Another day, Kakashi, my eternal rival." He turned over. "And I'm counting on you, Lee."

"Yes, Guy-Sensei!"

"I'm counting on you as well, Choji." Shikamaru said with a thumb up.

"Yes…Shikamaru."

"Don't let this get ahead of you, Silver." Blaze solemnly said. "Remember what I said."

Blaze walked with the return group as Silver just stood there in thought.

"Well, we have our Mission, everybody." Anko said. "Carry it out with valor."

"Yes, Anko-Sensei!" they all said.

The Return group set off and Anko, Sonic, Naruto, Amy, Sakura, Kakashi, Silver, Lee, Neji, Choji, Kiba and Tenten proceeded on to the Land of Rain.

XXXXX

As Guy, Shikamaru, Knuckles and Blaze returned to the Village, they couldn't help but notice that Tails and Chris were waiting at the Village Entrance.

"Hey, Tails!" Knuckles called out.

"Knuckles!" he replied.

"How's that project of yours coming along?" he queried.

"It's already finished!" he said. "If we can get the Chaos Emeralds together, I can show you what it is!"

"That's good to hear!" Blaze remarked. "What of the robot?"

"Didn't he come by to help you yesterday?" Chris asked.

"What do you mean?" Guy asked, rather confused.

XXXXX

As Team Anko walked into the village, they took in the view of all the villagers who were welcoming their presence with their waving. But it seemed unusual. Their waving was very monotonous and their facial expressions seemed very blank. It was quiet…Too quiet…

"These guys are pretty weird." Naruto commented. "They just keep waving and smiling…over and over…"

"It's really creepy…" Amy said as she held tight onto Sonic.

"Be prepared for anything, team…" Anko said solemnly.

They proceeded into the nearby house at the edge of the town. It seemed like a simple cottage. It rested at the top of a hill and had a pond. But it was only filled with water. And the aura that had been given here seemed too eerie. It seemed they really did have to be prepared for anything.

They stepped inside.

"Greetings." said the man inside the house. "Welcome to our little town. How can I be of service?" The man was simply wearing a cloak and a hat. He never showed his face.

"We were requested to come here by order of Tsunade, Hokage of the Leaf Village." Anko spoke. "It seems a little unusual for a town like this to be very…silent…"

"Our village has suffered tough times, my dear girl…" the man said, "But we're only simple people…That Orochimaru took everything away from us…"

"So he _was_ here!" Naruto remarked. "Quick, old man! Where is he now?!"

"Why are you in such a rush, dear boy?" he wondered. "We all just want you, our guests to be comfortable." He tilted his head up slightly, "After all…Why rush the inevitable. Orochimaru will come eventually, and he will kill you all…"

"We just want to make sure that-AAAARRRGHH!!!"

Anko screamed and clutched the back of her neck. She toppled to the ground, and Team Guy rushed over to her. Sonic walked up to the old man.

"Sounds like you're not tellin' us the whole story." He remarked. "Anko told me that Orochimaru gave her that mark, and did the same with Sasuke Uchiha." He stopped walking. "I bet that mark'll only give that throbbing pain if the one who caused it is nearby…isn't that right…Orochimaru?"

The man looked up at him. "Sonic the Hedgehog…" he peeled off the skin of his face. "I've heard good things about you."

Silver proceeded to remove his costume with his Psychokinesis. But only a log was hidden underneath it. Then, the whole house began to shake and Anko shouted, "Everyone get outside!!!" They did just that, as the hill they were standing on began to rise from their feet. And breaking out from underneath it was a giant robot that had four large wings that had doors that opened to shoot missiles from them. Underneath it were four flashlights that also shot lasers. Its direct underside was a bright orb that seemed to emanate with great power. Orochimaru stood atop its head.

"I'm glad you all could make it." He remarked. "Hide and Seek is over, my loyal subjects." He said as he snapped his fingers.

Then, the villagers leapt from their bodies, to reveal ninja with the Hidden Sound symbol on their headbands. Everyone stood in position for battle as well as drew out kunai and shuriken.

"And now that we're here…" he said with a sinister giggle. "Let the fun begin."


	10. Attack of Orochimaru

Chapter 10: Attack of Orochimaru

Orochimaru had called a giant robot with missile cannons, lights and a core laser to attack Sonic and the rest of Team Anko. He had also called various Sound ninja to do that exact same thing. To fight between this robot _and_ the Sound ninja would be very difficult, but for the time being, they were forced to make due. Neji's **Byakugan** could signify that the top of its head and the orb on its underside were its weak points. How to hit them was going to be a very difficult task with the Sound at their necks.

They divided into groups to make this task slightly easier. Anko would cover one area with Tenten, Amy and Sakura, while Kakashi took Lee, Choji and Kiba to another. Sonic, Naruto, Silver and Neji proceeded to weaken the robot.

Anko's area was swarming with the Sound ninja. There were enemies everywhere one could look. Anko took the liberty of attacking first with her "**Striking Shadow Snakes**!" to summon snakes to strangle several of them before they "POOF!" disappeared into clouds of smoke.

"Shadow Clones." She said. "This'll be pretty fun."

"Listen up, everybody!" she said to her group. "We're gonna have to knock out a lot of them to see how many originals there are!"

"My thoughts exactly!" Tenten said as she bit her thumb and spread the blood on a scroll she unraveled. She spun it around, and from it, thousands of kunai shot out around them. Many of the ninja blocked them, but some couldn't avoid their instant doom. When she rolled her scroll back up, she was holding a pair of broadswords and swinging them around herself as if she'd been using them her whole life, which she had, among other weapons.

Amy took her opportunity to make a high leap into the air and slam her hammer onto the ground, causing the ground beneath her to crumble and for the hammer itself to throw a shockwave at several onward clones. Some were killed, but others leapt into the air and threw kunai at her. "Oh, no you don't!" she shouted as she spun her hammer in front of herself to block the knives and then threw it to her right, causing it to turn at a 360 degree angle, smacking the ninjas into their doom, but throwing one to the ground. This one was real, and Amy slammed him with the hammer as he tried to get up.

"I swear you guys are just _trying_ to go easy on us."

Sakura had less trouble, since she had thrown shuriken in all her directions, throwing many clones into smoke. One of them leapt behind her and grabbed her as if trying to hold her hostage, but grabbed her in an unfortunate spot…

"YOU PERVERT!!!" She screeched as she punched the guy in the face, releasing his grip on her breast and knocking blood from his mouth. This had undone the jutsu, as the clones around her fell over and disappeared. She panted heavily and looked at her hands, thinking, "I guess I really don't know my own strength…"

Kakashi's group was even more surrounded than one would have hoped. They had to deal with several more sound ninja; many of which were also clones. But they took this in stride, as a skilled group was taking these on.

Kakashi took out several of them with his "**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**" to throw several clones into submission, while Kiba and Akamaru, now transformed to his master's shape, used "**Fang over Fang**!" to pierce through the enemies with pure speed. Lee was able to knock many of them down using the simplest "Leaf Whirlwind", and still not requiring to open the Chakra Gates, and Choji swept many of them away with his "**Partial Expansion Jutsu**!"

There's just no end to these guys, Kakashi-Sensei!" Lee remarked as another ninja performed a "**Shadow Clone Jutsu**!"

"How do we take 'em all on?!" Kiba barked.

"Say Please!"

Anko swept through even more of them by summoning snakes from both sleeves. Tenten sliced through many of them with her broadswords still in tow, and Sakura and Amy worked together like the equals they were.

XXXXX

Sonic, Naruto, Silver and Neji were having a difficult time battling the colossus that floated overhead. It fired its missiles and its Core Laser any chance it took and it was able to summon robots from its gigantic arms by lowering them to the ground. As they fought through the robots, they thought of their strategy. What's more, Orochimaru stood atop its head, giving all of his minions commands.

"Sonic!" Neji beckoned. "You and Naruto head to the robot's head! Silver and I have the bottom covered!"

"Got it!" he replied as he shot his thumb to the air. Then he and Naruto ran out from underneath the robot and awaited it to lower its limbs again. Silver and Neji kept underneath the robot and fought their own way. Silver collected missiles and shot them at robots using his "**Psycho Wave**!" and Neji struck their structures using **Gentle Fist**.

"Neji!" Silver asked. "Do you really think Naruto can save Sasuke?"

"His eyes are better than mine." He replied as he attacked another robot. "Naruto will find Sasuke in the darkness and free him. He is the only one who can."

Silver continued to fight, but thought hard about his inner-conflict.

XXXXX

Back in the village, Tsunade was about to have problems of her own. She took a look outside the window and noted that a really huge swarm of robots was coming in the direction. And at the lead was Dr. Eggman's "Favorite Assassin." They were coming towards the village at full speed and all the available sources that remained in the village were ready to take them on. The remainders of Teams 8 and 10, Knuckles, Blaze, Cream, Big, Tails, Chris, Guy, Shizune and Tsunade and even Vector, Espio and Charmy were prepared to fight for their lives, yet again. Various ANBU Soldiers were preparing to stand up to the oncoming assault, which Sigma had taken note of.

"Pesky bugs." He said as he stuck his foot forward. "Let's put 'em to sleep!"

His foot shot out and began to orbit the outer ring of the village at Mach 5. There was a bright blue gas shooting from the sole and circled around five times before returning to Sigma and reattaching its limb. The ANBU Black-Ops had then fallen asleep after being affected by this gas.

"Laughing Gas." He said. "It's funny how effective it is."

"Damn." Tsunade thought. "Eggman really thought ahead this time around…"

"Lady Tsunade," Shizune said, "The robot army is coming towards the village and the ANBU are out cold! What do we do?"

"We fight, Shizune!" she replied as she pulled off her green coat and tossed it aside. Then she stamped the ground, causing it to break from her inhuman strength, and picked up a single stone and chucked it at Sigma, as if with perfect aim.

"You ready, guys?!" Tails called out as he pulled up a giant rocket launcher onto his shoulder. "You bet your life, we are!" Chris replied as he loaded Tails' weapon.

"What better time and place to practice my own technique," Vector commented as he pulled out a sash with fifty bottles of sake over his body, "than here and now?"

"Tsunade's gonna be really mad when she sees you took her drinks." Charmy snidely remarked.

"I know, but we're at a life and death time, she'll put it aside."

"Let's not talk," Espio said as his body turned invisible, "and let the fun begin!"

"Tenacious little bugs!" Sigma thought furiously.

"Men!" he shouted. "The village idiots are yours," he turned his attention to Tsunade. "The Hokage is mine!"

XXXXX

Anko and Kakashi's group were starting to get worn out from having fought several shadow clones, and unable to pacify the real Sound ninja. Their chakra reserves were running thin, but for some reason, the ninja had plenty to spare.

"Dammit…" Anko said, "How can anybody have this much chakra?"

"I don't know…" Kakashi replied, "Not even Naruto would find this easy…"

"I shouldn't have released the first Chakra Gate…" Lee said, "Wintertime has fallen upon my youth…"

"Oh give it a rest…" Kiba said.

Tenten dropped her swords and they disappeared as she fell over. Sakura had used too much energy wiping the floor with the other ninja or clones that groped her. She hugged herself and shivered as well as breathed heavily from exhaustion. Amy fell over and dropped her hammer, and so did Choji.

"Hmph." The lead ninja scoffed. "Is this all you've got?" Then, the shadow clones and he pulled up their kunai and prepared to attack. "We've got plenty to spare."

"This isn't fair…" Anko thought.

"Say goodnight, Pussycats!" he shouted.

Then, suddenly a crowd of shadow clones were being swept into the air and disappearing into the smoke. Many of them tried to leap away, but they were quickly caught by the full force of the "**Spin Dash**!" But this wasn't Sonic performing it. In fact, the rolling ball was orange. When the spinning stopped, the user revealed itself to be the robot that Silver and Blaze brought from the future.

"Emerl!" Amy called out to the robot.

"Hey, Mom!" he replied. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"How did you get here?!"

"Silver and Blaze brought me here from the future and Tails fixed me up! I had to wait an hour, but I was ordered to come here and help you guys out!" He looked down and then said, "I can't copy abilities any more, but that's okay! I've done it before and I accept my handicap!"

He turned over to her. "Get yourselves to a safe spot! I'll take care of these guys!"

As he leapt back into battle, Amy was overcome with joy to see that her "son" had returned to save her.

"What did he mean, 'the future'?" Kakashi asked.

"Forget that!!" Kiba shouted, "What'd he mean, Mom?!?"

"Bark, Bark!"

Emerl fought through the several clones of Sound ninja that kept on popping over, as if they were breeding rabbits. Emerl was able to make good use of abilities he copied from his allies once before, like "**Heat Knuckle**!" from Knuckles, "**Drill Kick**!" from Rouge, "**Chaos Spear**!" from Shadow, and most importantly "**Spin Dash**!" from Sonic.

"You're just a nuisance," the lead ninja said, "Robot!"

Emerl fought through the foes, but was very confused as to how they keep the energy to do so. He looked around the area to scan how, until he saw a heated trail in Infra Red vision coming from the ninja. They kept going and going, and lead to the searchlights of the robot Sonic was fighting.

"SILVER!!" he called out. He had his attention.

"You're," he noted, "that robot!"

"Take out those Searchlights!! The ninja over here get their energy from them!!"

Silver and Neji looked above to the four searchlights between the robot's arms. Neji destroyed one the robots and passed them over to Silver, who held them with Psychokinesis, and shot them above to the robot's searchlights, knocking them off their hinges and toppling to the ground.

"What?!" the lead ninja shouted as his clones began to disappear, one by one.

"Awww…" Emerl scoffed, "Are your little clones so worn out they can't play anymore?" He got in position and began to glow red. "Well let me take them home for ya." He crossed his arms together and threw them out.

"**Chaos Blast**!!!"

And on that note, the clones were wiped out and the Sound ninja were officially dispatched. He brushed his hands together and looked at his job well done.

"That was amazing!" Sakura remarked.

"That's my boy…" Amy said with a smile on her face.

"I need you to explain something to me." Kakashi queried. "What did he mean when he said that Silver and Blaze brought him from the future?"

"Emerl always did have a big mouth…" she replied, "so to speak."

"Silver comes from a distant future where his Powers of Psychokinesis are a regular. Blaze comes from another dimension where she is the protector of the Sol Emeralds, her equivalent of our Chaos Emeralds. But why he needs to be here, usually means that he's gotta come here to save his timeline."

"What does he hope to do?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not sure…" she replied. "But I hope he knows if it's right."

"Well, Whaddya know?" Kiba spoke, taking a few sniffs. "We're about to get some company."

XXXXX

Back in the Leaf Village, the robot squadron has infiltrated the village and those in it are prepared to fight for their lives. Sigma engaged Tsunade, both by order of Dr. Eggman and from anger of being hit by her little "Rolling Stone." The rest fought the robots yet again and managed to draw them off in their own way.

Tails fought by launching rockets from his launcher. They weren't ordinary rockets, they were containers for rings. Actually, they were Dummy Ring Bombs, because they exploded when they came in contact with the dummies.

Chris fought by gearing himself in a mechanical tunic and fighting with a sword. He seemed to be very skilled in the use of this weapon. And he should be. He invented the training program himself. He hacked through the foes with the greatest of ease.

Kurenai fought with Genjutsu to hinder the robots' progress. It was Artificial, but their Intelligence was still affected by her tricks.

Asuma fought with his Trench Blades, like he usually does, alongside Knuckles, who…well, I don't need to say this, do I?

Shino, Ino and Shikamaru incapacitated their foes with their respective techniques, while Hinata fought them with her **Gentle Fist**.

Vector drank the sake in his arsenal. As if that's not enough, then he swallows a lit match and breaths fire at several unsuspecting robots.

Charmy fought alongside Shizune, who used her **Shadow Cone Jutsu** and **Transformation Jutsu** to turn into more Charmies, and dive on unsuspecting robots with their stingers, as well as the original Shizune stinging them with her own needles.

Espio was able to slip by his foes with invisibility, and had his own ninja techniques to get by. He fought by throwing shuriken and kunai at those from a distance, and when there were some grouped together, he wrapped them together with his long tongue and performed "**Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu**!" to burn them to a crisp.

"Where'd ya learn that, Espio?" Charmy asked.

"That girl Anko taught it to me." He replied.

Cream was able to stand her own against the robots by working together with Cheese. He attacks, then she attacks, and vice versa and repeat. Big, who did not want to see her get hurt, acted as her bodyguard and knocked away any robot that got within five feet of her with his own brute strength.

Tsunade fought Sigma at the top of the central building. He realized her inhuman strength was a force to be reckoned with, so he kept his distance and fought back with his own kicks. But he dodged her attacks, making him very overconfident by mistaking it for her missing her punches.

"What's the matter, Gramma?!" he mocked. "Why don't ya try to hit me?!"

"Working on it!" she shouted as she lifted her leg to the air and hammered it down on him with "**Flying Axe Kick**!" This hit him, and he went plummeting through the building. He rocketed back up, still too overconfident.

"That felt pretty painful. Would that normally kill a human?"

"We'll see who laughs last, you jackass!"

XXXXX

Sonic and Naruto managed to leap across the robots and climb up to the robot's head by its arms. Silver, Neji and Emerl continued to fight below them as well as the rest, now that they recovered, if not only slightly. Sonic and Naruto proceeded to confront the snake of a Sannin.

"Naruto Uzumaki." He said. "It's been awhile."

"Save it for the grave, Orochimaru." Naruto said. "I'm only going to ask you this once. Where is Sasuke?!"

"If only I knew." Orochimaru replied with a sneer.

"Stop trying to hide it from me, you worm!" Naruto shouted as his eyes began to glow red. "I know you're trying to hide Sasuke from me in your lair!"

"Once we find that," Sonic continued, "we'll find Sasuke and we'll bring him home, where he belongs!"

"Why do you care?" Orochimaru turned over to Sonic. "You don't belong here yourself. Why do you consider that village of disgusting rats your home?"

"Because they need my help." Sonic replied. "I'll find the Chaos Emeralds, and I'll use them to tear you down!"

"Don't talk so hastily, dear boy." Orochimaru scoffed. "If you hadn't come to our world, your so called 'friends' wouldn't be in this situation."

"I've had enough of you!" Naruto barked as his body began to become fiercer. His hair ruffled, his whiskers thickened, his fingernails became claws, he was spiraling with red chakra, and his eyes became bloodshot red.

"Sasuke is not within my presence right now." Orochimaru then snickered very evilly. "But he will be soon enough."

"Maybe…" Sonic said as he looked down, "all this did happen because of me." Sonic held the Chaos Emerald in his hand and suddenly, his body began to glow. But the glow was very dark. His body turned a dark color and his eyes became blank. "But I will be the one to fix this! Just you see!" he shouted as he floated from the robot's head.

"Well, if you're so angry for your friends…" Orochimaru chuckled as he gestured his hands to come towards him. "Then why don't you show them you care?"

"GLADLY!" They shouted in unison as they headed towards the treacherous demon. He leapt away and opened his mouth, performing "**Striking Shadow Snake**!" He shot a snake from his mouth, and it attempted to bite Naruto, but he leapt away from it and leapt up to Orochimaru and delivered a boot to his chin, knocking him back. Sonic flew up to him and waved his arm to perform **"Chaos Spear**!" which managed to send a jolt through the opponent's body, leaving him unprotected for Sonic to ram him with all speed. He fell backward, but leapt back by throwing his tongue around Sonic's neck, trying to return to his position. Sonic was caught by this, but managed to reach his arms around the tongue and pull its body toward him and punch him clean in the face!

Orochimaru fell off the robot, but leapt back up to face his adversaries. Silver took note of this and used Levitation to follow.

"Your abilities are impressive." He remarked. "But they're no match for the power of a Sannin!" he then performed a handsign, and faced upwards, summoning a snake from his mouth to spit a sword from it. He caught the sword in his hands, and pointed it at his adversaries. "Dance with me." He said.

Sonic's hands began to glow and Naruto created a shadow clone to form a Spiraling Sphere in his hand. Sonic then shot a "**Chaos Beam**!" while Naruto attacked with his "**Rasengan**!" He was able to block these techniques with his sword, and swung it as if to attack them, before…

"**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**!"

A Fireball shot at Orochimaru and burned him to a third degree. He collapsed to the surface of the robot as the figure that shot the technique leapt onto the arm of the robot. He was wearing a the very same blue shirt and white shorts. He was the friend that Naruto is desperately trying to save.

"Sasuke." said Naruto as he and Sonic calmed down.

"Long time no see…" he remarked. "Loser."

"Sasuke, you're back!" Naruto replied, jolly as ever, trying to forget recent events. "It's good to see you again! Come on! Let's take on snake boy together!"

"Idiot." He scoffed. "Look into his eyes."

Orochimaru managed to get back up and restore his body using the "**Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration**" and stood with his face staring directly at his adversaries with now pure glowing red eyes.

"If you look closely into someone's eyes," Sasuke commented, "you can tell if they're kind, evil, bloodthirsty, or within the state of transformation." He pointed at him, "That is not Orochimaru! That is an impersonator!"

"Very good, Sasuke." Orochimaru scoffed. "It looks like you are more aware of your surroundings than I thought…" Sasuke glared at him. "Normally this would be the time where I reveal myself to you…" he chuckled. "But I'm having so much fun in this form. I haven't even gotten to use this sword yet." He pointed his weapon at Sasuke. "Why don't you let me play with it a little?"

Sasuke pulled out a familiar Purple glowing gem from his shirt and drew a kunai from his pouch. "Fine by me. I was looking forward to seeing this thing's power, anyway."

"A Chaos Emerald." Sonic thought.

The fake Orochimaru and Sasuke leapt at each other and clashed swords with each other. They threw their swords together as fast as Sonic could run, and leapt from great distances just as fast. Sasuke performed his "**Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu**!" and this time, it missed the target and hit the giant robot. Sonic and Naruto leapt off as the fortress fell over directly beneath it.

"Oh, No!" Sonic shouted, "Everyone's still under there!"

"SASUKE!!!" Naruto shouted to the sky.

When they landed, everyone warped right next to them, and Emerl knelt over in exhaustion, meaning he performed Chaos Control. He pulled the Red Emerald from himself and showed it to Sonic.

"Good to see you again, Sonic." He said.

"Good to see you too, buddy." Sonic replied.

"That's the Chaos Emerald Vector had." Amy remarked. "He couldn't use it, so he lent it to us."

"That's good to hear." Naruto said.

"Wait," Sonic said, "Where's Silver?"

"I saw him go up to the robot." Lee said. "I assume he's over there, with them."

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as he leapt into that distance.

Sakura blinked to this. "Sasuke?!?" She then started running in that same direction. "I have to see this for myself!"

"Sakura, Come back!!" Kakashi called out, but she didn't respond.

Sonic ran after the two. Emerl followed.

XXXXX

Back in the Leaf Village, things were looking rather grim. Many of our heroes were exhausted, and on the verge of becoming robot fuel. Tsunade was tiring as well, but still had plenty of strength to spare. Sigma was still in perfect condition, albeit he, too, was showing signs of fatigue.

"This is crazy." He thought to himself. "She can't still have this much energy to spare!" Tsunade looked at him and thought the same thing.

"I'm through playing games with you!" he barked, as his left arm transformed into a sword. "Likewise." She replied as chakra began to emanate in her right fist. "Let's settle this." The two began to run towards each other and held back their weapons as they leapt towards each other. Before they knew it…

It was a draw.

Tsunade had implanted her fist _through_ Sigma's forehead whereas Sigma had impaled Tsunade through her stomach. Sigma jolted his head in a twitch and Tsunade coughed blood to the floor. They released their strike and stumbled to opposing sides of each other before collapsing to the floor and facing each other.

"You were indeed a worthy adversary…" he said softly.

"At least…" she strained, "we saw this through to the end…"

"My mission is complete…but yours is long from over…"

"Shut up…you…bastard…" she said before closing her eyes.

"Systems…inoperative…commencing…shut down…pro…to…col…"

"…" It was over.

The heroes were still incredibly exhausted, and on the verge of death. They thought it would be over as robots were closing in on them. Until…

A blast of wind shot at the robots and dismembered them as they flew in direction of their wooden prison. It closed up and several blades hammered in, but the container was so strong, it didn't break from the explosion inside.

Purple bombs spread around the area as well as missiles. They exploded on the robots and it was more over than it was going to be.

Some robots were still lingering in the field, but they were swept up by a long tongue and swallowed whole by a very large frog. It belched smoke, and from on top of it came the familiar Pervy sage that everyone knows and possibly loves:

"Jiraiya is in the house, everybody!!!"

Temari leapt aside Shikamaru, likewise Rouge to Knuckles. Kankuro leapt aside Shino and Hinata as well as Omega to Tails and Chris.

"Mission Complete." Omega said.

"Good thing we arrived on the mark," Temari teased, "or you guys would've been toast for sure!"

"What a drag." Shikamaru said. "Saved by a girl."

"I heard that."

"Good."

"Come on, you knucklehead," Rouge said, "You're in enough of a bind as it is."

"Hmph!" he snubbed, "I could've handled those robots lickety-split." On that, he knelt back over. "Yeah, right!" she replied.

"So," Shino said, "You've come to save us."

"Yep." Kankuro replied. "You guys would've been screwed in if we hadn't come!"

"We thank you for your assistance in fending off those foul robots."

"Yes." Hinata continued, "You saved our lives."

Kankuro walked over and knelt in front of her, holding her hand. "I would come from miles to save a beautiful lady like yourself." He kissed her hand, and she blushed in both being astonished and flattered.

Jiraiya's frog leapt up on the roof to see Tsunade standing after completing her "**Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration**." Jiraiya walked over to her.

"Any news on Orochimaru?" she asked.

"Not yet." He replied. "Apparently, the guy in the Land of Rain is an impersonator."

She looked down. "That's very unfortunate."

"The real Orochimaru is still in hiding somewhere out there." He turned back to her. "And Sasuke just engaged him."

"Won't Naruto get a surprise from that…" she remarked as she turned around. "Inform everyone to go home and rest up." As her hands started to wrinkle, she said, "And tell them not to see me until tomorrow." She picked up her coat, put it back on and closed the door behind her.

"So where's Shadow?" Tails asked.

"Come to think of it…" Shikamaru said, "Where's Gaara?"

"They are commencing mission to aid Sonic." Omega replied.

"Gaara wanted to help Naruto as well." Temari replied. "He owes him a great debt…"

XXXXX

As Sasuke engaged the fake Orochimaru yet again, they were about to clash, until they found their bodies unable to move at all. Also, their immobile bodies were glowing Cyan.

"Don't move, you two." Silver said, holding them with Psychokinesis.

"What the hell is this?!?" Sasuke struggled to say.

"Does he know now as well?" Orochimaru thought.

"SILVER!!!" Sonic called out to him.

Sonic proceeded to kick Silver in the back of the head, releasing his grip on the two. Naruto and Sakura followed behind.

"What the hell were you doing?!" Sonic demanded to know.

"Why did you attack Sasuke?!" Naruto barked.

"Because he is responsible for the destruction of my Future!"

Sakura stared at this sight. "That's crazy!!"

"It's true!!" Silver replied. "To save the world, we must stop Sasuke before his training with Orochimaru can commence!" He placed his grip back on Sasuke and Orochimaru. "I have to stop this before it begins!"

"Is that really the best way?!" Sakura cried out. "Do you really have to kill him?!" she literally cried out.

Silver stood stunned and released his grip again.

"I'll handle this!!" Sasuke shouted before being smacked in the face. Likewise, Orochimaru was smacked. His impact was a fist from Shadow, while Sasuke's was a fist of sand from Gaara's gourd.

"Gaara!" Naruto called out.

"This ends now, you faker!" Shadow yelled to Orochimaru.

As Gaara placed his grip on Sasuke with his sand, he performed his deadly "**Sand Coffin**..." and "**Sand Burial**!" crushing him under the pressure. The sand moved away, revealing a log, smashed to pieces.

"You are very annoying, you know that?" Orochimaru scoffed before melting into a puddle of a disoriented colored liquid. "Until we meet again." The puddle disappeared.

It stood completely silent for about a minute, before Sakura broke the silence with:

"Why?"

"Why would you think that is the right thing to do?"

"Because," Silver replied, "He is very dangerous. If I don't kill him, he'll team up with Metal Sonic and overthrow the world."

"Who's Metal Sonic?" Naruto asked.

"YOU!!!" Sakura yelled furiously at Naruto. "This is all because YOU invited him along! If you hadn't encouraged him to come along, Sasuke would still be here with us right now!!"

"Hey!" he darted back, "It's not like we knew this was gonna happen! Nor is it like Silver actually _did_ kill him!"

"Calm down, you two." Shadow said.

"And YOU came in and took our only clue of finding him away from us! If you two hadn't come in, we'd have found out where Orochimaru was hiding! This is ALL YOUR FAULT, you stupid FREAKS!

Shadow and Gaara were stunned by this brutal comment.

"OKAY, THAT HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH!!!" Naruto screamed.

"How DARE you call him a freak! He has gone through things WORSE than you can imagine! But why do you care? You actually lived with a mother and a father for your childhood! He had NO ONE! **I** had no one! You would never understand what it could POSSIBLY be like to be alone!!!"

After hearing this, Sakura became shocked. Then her eyes filled with tears. Naruto stared at her with very apologetic eyes. But she wouldn't believe him after that performace. She made a hand sign and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. It was deathly silent for a moment before Naruto glared at Silver.

"She's right, you know." He said. "None of this would be happening if your stupid revenge plan didn't have to involve Sasuke!"

"What're you mad at me for?!" Silver defended, "If we don't do something, everything will remain exactly as it is!"

"I think you've done enough! Look at how bad Sakura's feeling!"

"That's not my Fault!"

"**SHUT THE HELL UP**!!! BOTH OF YOU!!!"

They all turned their attention to Shadow.

"If there's anyone to be mad at, it's Metal Sonic." He said. "All of this is going to go wrong because the Doctor came here to counterbalance Metal Sonic's power with Naruto's."

"He wants the Nine-Tailed Fox's power?" Sonic gasped. "That guy will do anything to beat me, I swear..."

"That's just crazy!" Naruto stammered. "I can hardly control this thing myself. How will he be able to conquer the world with it?"

"I don't know..." Silver distressed. "But if that's the case, then surely he finds a way."

"Even without this power..." Gaara added, "I could sense a great amount of energy emanating from him. He is very powerful, but not omnipotent."

"Then how do we beat him?" Naruto asked quite nervously.

"There is a way."

They turned their attention to Emerl.

"In the future world, I was damaged, but functional." He said. "I could tell that Metal Sonic was truly the one pulling the strings behind this all. But I was able to devise a way to defeat him and Sasuke." They looked at him intently. "Metal Sonic is able to communicate with himself between timelines. He may have escaped here, but if we shut him down in the future and seal him away with Chaos Control…" he pulled out the Red Chaos Emerald, enticing the rest to pull out their Blue, Green and White Chaos Emeralds. "We'll cripple both of them severely, giving us time to find the rest of the Emeralds and reprogram his data, so he won't copy abilities, he won't jump through dimensions, he won't transform, and most importantly, he won't remember _any_ of this."

"Who's with me?"

Naruto and Gaara looked at each other and nodded. Then, the three hedgehogs and the robot raised their arms together and performed "**Chaos Control**!" to create a rift in Space-Time. Emerl was the first to leap through. But Silver turned to his allies to give them warning: "Prepare for a shock, guys. It's not pretty." He jumped through before Sonic and Shadow looked at each other, while Naruto and Gaara did the same. At that, they all leapt through. As the portal closed, the disoriented puddle from before stood back up in the form of Orochimaru.

"This is very unfortunate…" commented the fake Sannin as his eyes turned black and red, and started blinking.


	11. Metal Sonic the Destroyer

Chapter 11: Metal Sonic the Destroyer

Before "Orochimaru" was defeated by Sonic, Naruto and crew, Dr. Eggman went to the lair of the real Sannin to make a deal with him. Orochimaru knew that he himself was only recovering from performing his "**Immortality Jutsu**," so he didn't try anything hasty. If the good doctor did, he had Sasuke and Kabuto to back him up. Decoe, Bocoe, Bokkun and the twins never spoke, knowing the consequences.

The deal in question was that Eggman knew that someone was impersonating him in the Land of Rain, and who. He offered the Purple Chaos Emerald to him if they would use it to apprehend the perpetrator, while Eggman ordered his fleet to attack the village on Orochimaru's behalf. However, he realized Sigma was too overconfident for his own good and that Metal Sonic was just as powerful without the Chaos Emerald as he was with them.

"I'm guessing our little deal failed." Orochimaru solemnly said.

"Seems like it." Eggman replied. "But rest assured those nincompoops of the Hidden Leaf will eventually fall." He looked in thought. "Hopefully, before Metal Sonic has the chance to find your little 'apprentice' here."

Sasuke looked back at him and returned the Chaos Emerald. "It's potent, but I'll rely on real power from within to crush that freak." He said.

"Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto asked. "Do you really think it's necessary to allow Naruto to live?" his master turned his attention. "Who knows what Akatsuki could accomplish if they try to steal him from Dr. Eggman?"

"For now," he replied. "It's best we leave things in control of the doctor here."

"Sasuke," Orochimaru beckoned, "I want you to seek out this…Metal Sonic…and take care of him for me."

Sasuke left without a word.

"Remind me to stay on his good side." Eggman said. "Once the Chaos Emeralds are within my control, I shall make my leave and proceed to conquering Mobius."

Orochimaru stared at him skeptically.

"I could care less about ruling another dimension. Besides, you seem to have things covered around here."

"Well, see to it that it happens." He softly replied.

On that note, Eggman left the mansion. On the way out, he took note that the entryway was very misty. He turned on his headlights to see through it.

"That guy was scary…" Eta and Theta shivered.

"Well, at least we can proceed with our World Domination plan as we had hoped." Decoe said.

"Indeed. You are a genius, Doctor." Bocoe replied.

"Well, the first part is making sure that Sasuke fella reaches Metal Sonic before he has a chance to anything horrible!" Bokkun replied.

"Indeed." Eggman said. "Let's just hope he doesn't give in to…temptation."

Within the mist, two figures walked along the path, far behind Dr. Eggman. They both wore black cloaks with red clouds spotted on them, and hats with bristly lining concealing their faces.

"So," one of them said, "this guy is also after Naruto."

"Yes." The other said. "But he seems to be more concerned with this 'Sonic' character."

"He's no threat to our organization," the first said, "But it would be nice to see what he's capable of."

"And so we shall," the other replied, with his eyes glowing red under his hat, "We just have to wait for him to return from his little 'quest'."

XXXXX

As the portal opened, many years later, Sonic, Naruto, Shadow, Silver, Gaara and Emerl leapt out of it and Silver walked forward. While the rest stood close behind them, they took in the sight of what this world looked like in awe, horror and sadness.

"Take a look at what this has come to…" Silver stated.

The world was engulfed in storm clouds high above the highest skyscrapers. Many of the buildings were intact, while several others were broken or destroyed. On the ground, the streets had uplifted, trees were burnt, houses were destroyed, but other houses remained intact, and within them were innocent families who lived in fear of the great danger that flew above the skies, a fierce blue mechanical dragon that roamed the skies, constantly seeking new prey to feast upon. Sonic and Shadow knew this beast all too well. They fought him once before.

"That's Metal Sonic?!" Sonic blinked.

"How could this have happened?" Naruto asked in desperation.

"Metal Sonic finds Sasuke in the past and offers him power." Emerl commented. "They team up and overthrow the world. Many have tried to slay this duo… many have failed… many have died…including…" he turned to the four behind Silver and himself. He looked down in sadness, and they suddenly realized what it meant.

"That's horrible…" Shadow replied. Naruto was brought to tears upon knowing this. Gaara looked down in sadness and Sonic looked down in shame. "To think…" he said, "That he'd be powerful enough to beat us all…"

"Some are still alive." Silver stated. "They came here to Mobius to flee from this horror. They are still alive, but they only look slightly older than you because of Mobius' atmosphere. I was born into this world to fight them, and that's what I'll do. I helped Blaze stop Eggman Nega once before, before returning to this world to continue my mission. She was grateful to me, so she remained here to help me."

"Who's still alive?" Naruto asked. They turned to him as he held that sad look on his face. "Who survived?" They turned back to Silver.

He looked down for a moment and then looked back at him.

"Let me show you."

XXXXX

Five minutes after Silver and Blaze went to the past to change this, Silver opened the door to the house of the Freedom League. Everyone was astonished to see him back so soon, and confused.

"Back so soon?" Shikamaru asked. "You were only gone five minutes."

"Time travel's pretty complicated." Silver replied. "I brought guests…" as he walked in, Sonic, Naruto, Shadow, Gaara and Emerl followed behind. "…from back then."

"Silver…" Sakura replied, stunned. "Was it really okay to do this?"

"They had to know…" he replied, "And we found a way to stop him."

"S-Sakura…" Naruto shuddered as he looked upon his friends. Only slightly older because of Mobius' atmosphere, and only appeared to be in their early twenties or even teen years. "Everyone…" he said as he looked upon the survivors who were astonished to see them.

"I don't believe this…" Neji said, "You're from the past…"

"Can this really be true?" Sonic asked them. "Are we really… dead?"

Everyone looked down in shame, defeat and sadness. Some of them even cried, even Suki, who was of their group, but Naruto saw her outfit and, without thinking, said, "Kurenai-Sensei?" she responded by crying into Temari's swollen belly. She stroked her across the head and Shikamaru said, "This is her daughter, Suki." Gaara looked at Temari's abdomen and walked up to her. Temari was surprised to see him, and also sad, since…you know… "This world…" he said, "…has few survivors… are you trying to repopulate?"

"Some of us found love…" Lee said, "And to save our world to a decent extent, we made it."

"Even…" Sakura said, as she pointed to Naruto, who was shocked to hear this, and took one look at Sakura's stomach to see it perfectly thin. He gave a look of dissatisfaction, before asking, "…With who?"

On that note, Hinata walked, or waddled into the room, carrying her heavy stomach as far as it could take her. She saw Naruto, and walked over to him, knelt over to give him a hug, then positioned herself so Naruto could rub her belly. He was happy to see her in this condition, because she had found love with Naruto upon realizing they shared the same dream: to never give up. Naruto helped her stand back up and returned to the group.

"What happened to the rest of us?" Shadow asked. "Don't tell me they…"

They frowned in response to this. The children cried. Emerl stood up and stated, "There is a way to change this."

Everyone turned their attention to Emerl.

"Wherever Metal Sonic is right now, we have to find him and bring him to the ground. We must fight him so we can restrain him with Chaos Control, and seal him away. With the power of four, that will be an easy task," remarking Sonic, Shadow, Silver and himself, "but the hard part is weakening him. We still know his accomplice, Sasuke, so we must fight him as well, so he won't get in the way. Naruto…" he turned over to Naruto, and remarked with, "This means you must fight your best friend."

Naruto looked over for a minute and gave it some thought. He turned back over and placed his hand forward. "We're gonna pulverize Metal Sonic for sure! We have to return hope to this hopeless world, but we'll need your help."

"Who's with me?"

Sonic, Shadow and Gaara went over and placed in their hands on his, followed by Silver and Emerl. Then Sakura placed her hand in, followed by Lee, Neji, Shikamaru, Temari, Suki, Hinata and Team Konohamaru.

"All right!" they shouted, "Let's do this!"

They opened the door, and then Naruto said, "Okay, now our first order of business is to get that big lizard out of the sky!" But suddenly, Hinata collapsed to the floor behind them and intensely clutched her stomach. She closed her eyes and held tighter in great pain, and Sonic noticed that her lower belly was wet and that water was formulating a puddle beneath her.

"Uh, oh." Sakura said, "Sonic, get Hinata to that bed over there!" she shouted in a commanding tone of voice, "Silver, go boil some water! Neji! Lee! We're gonna need fresh towels!" Naruto looked at her, confused, and asked her, "Sakura, what's going on?! What's wrong with Hinata?"

"You're having twins, Naruto!" she replied, causing him to gasp and freak out.

XXXXX

In the bedroom behind them, Silver brought in a small tub of boiling hot water with his Psychokinesis, Neji and Lee had brought in fresh towels from the pantry and placed them next to the tub. Both were placed next to the bed Hinata laid in, who was placed under a sheet on that bed, belly up, and legs spread apart. Sakura had been taught many medical procedures by Tsunade, including childbirth, so she took charge as the head doctor.

"The water broke 4.25 minutes ago." She said. "The babies haven't crowned yet, but they will soon."

"Just relax, Hinata." Sonic said, "Everything will be all right." She nodded to him in response as she continued to sweat profusely. "Hinata…" Naruto said as he walked to her side. "I knew you got your courage from me, and my very same determination never to give up, but I never knew you felt so strongly about me…" he placed his hand to her face. She returned the favor. "Naruto…I...OUCH!!" she shouted as she clutched the bed at her side and closed her eyes and clenched her teeth in pain.

"The first baby is crowing!" Sakura said, "Sonic! Naruto! Grab her hands!" They responded by doing just that. "Hinata, when I count to Three, push in rhythm of your breathing, okay?" She nodded in response. Sakura went back to Hinata's lower area.

"Ready? One… two… three… PUSH!!"

Hinata did just as she was told, and began to push in rhythm of her own breathing. It was so painful, however, that she had clutched the hands of Sonic and Naruto, who screamed in pain after feeling this.

"As if taking a hit from Knuckles didn't hurt badly enough!!" Sonic shouted. She continued to squeeze their hands, crushing them from the pressure. "OUCH!!" she screamed in pain as she continued to push. "The head is out! PUSH, Hinata!" Sakura yelled as Hinata continued to push, but went out of rhythm. "I can't do it!!" she cried. "Yes, you can, Hinata!" Naruto yelled. "Remember never to give up!" She blushed and then continued to grunt in pain. She breathed even more heavily and pushed even further.

As a loud crying was heard, Sakura pulled out the first baby, snipped its cord, and passed it to Lee to dry off. "It's a boy!" she said. "Lee! Hold onto him until we're finished!" He nodded and rubbed the baby in his arms with the towel. Hinata continued to push in rhythm of breathing, but realized no progress was being made.

"Oh, no!" Sakura shouted. "The second baby is being strangled by its own umbilical cord! If you push any further, it will die!" Hinata gasped in response, trying as best as she could to hold it in. "DAMMIT!" Naruto shouted. "I'm not giving up on you, Hinata! There has to be another way!" Sonic nodded.

"Let me through!" Silver shouted as he looked into Hinata. Then he closed his eyes and focused his energy. He used "**Psycho Path**!" to see into her stomach and to find out, Sakura was right. The baby was being choked by its own umbilical cord. Then, Silver twiddled his fingers to use his Psychokinesis to release the strangle hold on the baby. Silver then opened his eyes, looked back into Hinata and took control.

"Hinata, PUSH!!" He shouted, and she proceeded to do just that. This time, the baby continued to crown, just as she continued to push. Silver pulled the baby out, which cried as loud as its sibling, cut its cord and handed it to Neji. "It's a girl."

Hinata was incredibly exhausted from this procedure. She was breathing heavily and Sonic and Naruto comforted her. She laid on the bed and breathed some more.

XXXXX

After a while, everyone waited in the living room. Suki continued to lay across Temari's belly, while Temari rubbed her head and comforted her like the mother she would soon be. Gaara sat net to her and she stroked him across the head. "Don't worry." She said. "If you defeat Metal Sonic, everyone will still be alive." He smiled at her, then turned to Shikamaru, who, along with Shadow, looked at Team Konohamaru playing with Emerl. "I found love for that silly knucklehead over there. And I didn't get pregnant just for the sake of reviving the world." Gaara looked at her somewhat skeptically, but then chuckled gently.

"Kids are pretty cute, aren't they?" Shikamaru asked Shadow.

"They are…" he replied, "But they remind me too much of a friend I once had."

"Really?" Shikamaru asked in response.

"I put it behind me, so I wouldn't be conflicted by it…" he looked to the ceiling. "I'll never forget you… Maria."

Then, the door opened and Sakura came through with a smile on her face.

"The operation was a success!"

XXXXX

Everyone walked into the room, and took in the pleasurable sight of Sonic, Naruto and Silver standing aside Hinata, who was sitting up on the walled edge of the bed, and holding her babies to her chest, close to her heart. They had blue hair, like Hinata, only they were very short on their heads. One would just bet they were going to have spiky hair. They had whiskered cheeks, as well. They hadn't opened their eyes, yet, but one would probably assume they had blue Hyuga eyes. She had opened her shirt, so she could breastfeed them for their very first meal.

"They're feeding right now, so don't bother them." Sakura said. "All that's needed for now is plenty of rest. Also, be very quiet."

They had all gotten closer to her, but kept a safe distance, so she had room to breathe. Naruto took the opportunity to rub them both over their heads. "Look at them." Hinata said. "Aren't they precious?"

"Yeah." Sonic said softly. "They even look like a combo of Hinata and Naruto."

"Wow…" Naruto said, "My own son and daughter…"

"She wanted it to be special," Silver said, "since she had cared about you just as much as she wanted to be like you."

"I want to thank you." She said. "Thank you, Naruto. Seeing your face has given me hope again. You've given me the courage to bring life into this forsaken world. You brought a light to my darkness. And you've given me hope that we can change this world, so it's safe for everyone."

"We all owe it to you for that." Lee said. "Seeing our old friends has given us confidence to live on, even in this broken time. You've even given me confidence that the Lotus of Love will revive within the Springtime of Youth."

Naruto chuckled. "That's just like you, Bushy-Brows."

"It's not over, yet." Shadow said. "We've still got to defeat Metal Sonic and Sasuke."

"I say," Emerl continued, "That we take this opportunity to strike while he's distracted. Then when we can weaken him, we cripple him with Chaos Control!"

"Okay!" Silver shouted. "Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted, "I hereby assign this as an S-Rank Mission, as Official Hokage of this new World!" In that, Sonic and Hinata looked at him with a nervous grin, and everyone else gave an unamused glare. "Temari!" he pointed, "You stay here and take care of Hinata and the kids!" Temari accepted her task, and replied with, "You got it!"

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Shikamaru declared, "First of all, you're still younger than us, and second, you're giving a _Man's_ job to a _woman_?! That's unreal!!" Temari smacked him across the head. "I think you've said enough!" she said, "I'm only six months in; I can take care of myself!" Shikamaru rubbed the swollen lump on his head and admit defeat.

"Sonic!" he called out, "You know Metal Sonic better than anybody! I think _you_ should lead this mission." Sonic replied with a smile and the thumbs up. "Okay!" he shouted, "Let's go!"

And on that, Sonic, Naruto, Shadow, Silver, Gaara, Sakura, Rock Lee, Neji, Emerl and Shikamaru headed off to change the destiny of the world!

XXXXX

Back inside, Temari sat aside Hinata and rubbed Suki over her head, while Hinata held her twins to her side and fell asleep. Konohamaru walked up to Temari and asked:

"You think we should've told him he actually _does_ become Hokage?"

"Nah." She replied. "He can learn that on his own."


	12. The Strength of Teamwork

Chapter 12: The Strength of Teamwork

Sasuke had headed off to a desolate field to seek out Metal Sonic, who was impersonating Orochimaru not too long ago. He kept leaping through the endless meadows until he managed to reach his location: A sparkling field with grass that danced and shined in the gentle breeze. Sasuke simply walked along for about five minutes before he looked in the direction ahead of him. He stood out ten meters in the distance across Sasuke. He simply took in his view before turning his attention back to the one he would soon befriend, though he was still in the shape of his opponent's master.

"Sasuke." He said. "Good to see you." His tongue smacked across his lips.

"Don't you think this charade has gone on long enough?" Sasuke scoffed. "Dr. Eggman told me who you really are… and what's more, he created you. Am I right?"

The figure chuckled slightly before turning into a disoriented color and changing shape. "And here I thought your perception was just good." He remarked as the color faded and he had taken on the likeness of our favorite speed freak. He had three spikes on the back of his head, the pattern looking triangular. His head, body, forearms and shins were blue, where his face, limbs, fingers and shoulders were silver. The white line running through his shoes was horizontal rather than vertical and they had rockets within them. His stomach and backs of his hands were yellow, and his eyes were pitch-black with red pupils.

This was the original form of Metal Sonic.

"Well, I could tell you weren't Orochimaru by looking into your eyes." Sasuke replied. "That's perception enough."

"Orochimaru was right to choose you, Sasuke…" He said very evilly, "…But he is not strong enough himself… to give you the power you seek…"

"And I'm to believe you are?"

"You don't have to…" he turned around and looked at the sky. "But he does not have very good vision. I see an entire world worth making my own when I see this field, while your so-called 'Master' only wishes to bring down a single village…" he knelt over and plucked a nearby flower. "Orochimaru is a fool. But we share a feature in common." He turned back to Sasuke. "When I see you… I see great promise in destroying my most hated rival… my loathsome duplicate…" he crushed the flower in his hand. "…and taking the world he oh so cherishes…" He crumpled the flower to dust and spilled it on the grass.

"What are you getting at?"

"My vision is better than his… but your's exceeds the both of us." He began to walk closer to him. "I can see your entire life flash before your eyes… You are lost… you are alone… and your only goal in life is to destroy the life… of the one destroyed yours…"

Sasuke blinked at this, and thought of his entire past: His family, his days at the Academy, all leading up to the murder of his parents and the destruction of his clan. He looked down in shame and tears were brought to his eyes as he angrily clenched his fists.

"I know it hurts, dear boy." Metal continued, "But you can have that and much more… if you allow me…" he brought his hand out to him, "…to guide you in the right direction…"

Sasuke thought for a minute and wiped his tears. He looked back at Metal and blinked his eyes. Upon that, they turned into the **Sharingan**. Metal Sonic looked at this and realized it was a look of challenge. He chuckled slightly to accept. Then he floated off the ground and returned to his ten meter distance. Sasuke drew a kunai and Metal Sonic began to course power through his body before morphing his arm to a machine gun.

"Very well." He said. "I will show you power before I offer it."

On that, they leapt towards each other and began the test of their lives.

XXXXX

As the team to save the future headed out to the center of the city of battle the Metal Overlord, they headed there with all the haste they could possibly muster. Naruto and Sonic looked upon the feat of Metal Sonic and Sasuke's doing. They were very saddened by this, but they were equally as angered. Naruto began to mutate to his fox-like appearance, while Sonic became engulfed in that dark aura. They stood side to side as they reached their quick agreement:

"I'll take the boy…" Naruto said.

"…I'll take the bot." Sonic replied.

"Naruto…" Sakura thought as she looked at them in fear.

"I've seen this temper before." Shadow said to her. "Sonic will often take this form whenever he is deeply angered or hurt inside. But this anger also comes from the sympathy of those he cares about." He looked at her with a meaningful look. "It looks like they've got a lot in common." She looked back to the two with the shared sympathy, but in the form of sadness.

"Silver, Emerl and I will follow Sonic." He stated. "The rest of you follow Naruto." She nodded in response before they both looked back at their team division and nodded in agreement. And so, on that, they split up.

XXXXX

Metal Sonic, still in his dragonish form, tore through the city as if he was Godzilla. In this predicament, he could be his replacement. He shot electrical breath upon the city, destroying many buildings, while casting others into fire. He was about to continue his fiery rampage, when something caught his attention. He turned over and saw a team of interlopers, led by his most hated copy.

"Chaos Control…" he remarked, "…using the power of four…" he turned over to Sonic's group. "It's good to see you again… Sonic!"

"Metal Sonic!" Silver shouted, "This time, you will be defeated!"

"I was informed you knew how to stop me…" he replied, "…and that you know how my plan works…"

"You always were smart," Sonic said, still incredibly furious, "for a duplicate."

"You shouldn't be getting so cocky, Sonic…" he replied, "…or maybe I should call you Sonic clone… I have already proven the stronger half… many years ago…"

"Well, prove it to us here and now," Shadow scoffed. "If you can catch up."

"GLADLY!" he shouted as he shot a ball of energy from his mouth. They leapt up, and remained in midair, because Silver had levitation, Shadow could hover with his air shoes, Emerl had rockets on the soles of his feet, and Sonic could fly thanks to his dark form. Metal wasn't very easily pleased though, for he didn't hesitate to strike a claw at them directly afterwards. Emerl, Sonic and Shadow were hit, but Silver avoided the shot, and tore scaffolding off a broken building with "**Psycho Grab**!" and threw it right at Metal, hitting him directly in his left cheek. Sonic was able to recover and threw himself at Metal in a "**Spin Dash**!" This hit him on the back of the head and kept forcing pressure on him until he forced back up, knocking Sonic away.

Shadow was about to be bitten by him, but Shadow warped behind him using "**Chaos Control**!" to warp behind him and throw a "**Sky Drop Kick**!" onto the back of his head. Emerl shifted his left hand into a large gun mounted on his shoulder, and charged energy to shoot a "**Turbo Blast**!" at Metal. He may have learned this from Omega on a previous occasion. Metal saw this and countered with an energy blast of his own. The force was strong. So much, in fact, that the energy collided and exploded together, knocking both parties back.

XXXXX

Naruto's group managed to reach Sasuke within the park. Though now, it was a green and grey wasteland. Benches were intact, strangely, the fountain in the center was decrepit and didn't spout water, trees were skeletonic, and the sky still bared thunder clouds.

"No place like home." Shikamaru scoffed.

"We must work to fix this…" Lee said, "…but we need to find Sasuke so we can keep him away from Metal Sonic."

Neji nodded.

"How do we do that?" Sakura asked.

"Just say please," a voice spoke, "and I'll make it quick."

They looked upon the horizon, and there stood Sasuke atop a large, rusty monumental structure of what seemed to be people. But these weren't just any people…

"Take a look at this statue I stand atop." He said. "This was made of the people who gave their lives to try and stop us." He leapt down and turned around. "Up front are the greatest of them all." Indeed, he was referring to a rusted bust of Naruto and Sonic. "And look beneath me…" Below him were small pedestals. "These mark the names of those who were too weak to try and change this." He looked up into the sky. "It's good I let some live… because then I wouldn't be able to have fun with Silver." He chuckled. "The fools. Only trying to delay the inevitable."

"Then why…" Naruto growled, still angered, "…why do you allow this to stand?!"

"Because it is fun…" he smirked, "…to watch people pray to a deaf god… wishing these losers a happy afterlife… claiming them to be… heroes… they were just weak." He turned back to Naruto. "Metal Sonic gave me the power I wanted. I destroyed Itachi, Orochimaru… and most importantly…" he pointed to the lead of the group. "You… Naruto."

Naruto snarled at him, and barked like a wolf in anger. Well, a fox to be more precise. Sasuke glared back at him. Then he took note upon his comrades, who stood by his side and prepared to fight. He then huffed.

"Again?" he scoffed. "When will you learn… there is no strength in numbers?"

"It's not the numbers that matter…" Gaara said as sand began to envelop his body. Then Sakura said, "It's how those numbers work together." They stood in position, and Gaara had enveloped his entire body in sand, giving himself armor to go with his furious eyes. They regarded this in alliance, not fear of death. "Because…" Lee said. "You should know…" Neji. "That is…" Shikamaru. Then Naruto stepped forward and said:

"The strength of teamwork."

XXXXX

In the present, Sasuke battled Metal Sonic as fiercely as he could, and vice versa. Sasuke stood up to him by flashing his kunai in front, only to have Metal block it with his foot. He then opened his chest and shot a missile at Sasuke, who cut through it, breaking though the explosive contact. He tried to slash him even further, but this time, he began to warp. He appeared behind him, and then kicked him. He warped again and punched him. Kick. Punch. Kick. Punch. Sasuke stood strong though, and tried to counter Metal's "**Spin Dash**!" with "**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**!" only to have Metal burst right through it and hit Sasuke clean in the stomach. He released his attack and stood in front of him. Sasuke then leapt forward and used "**Striking Shadow Snake**!" to strangle him, only to have Metal warp behind him, open his chest again, but this time shoot "**Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu**!" and hit him in the back. He fell over, and was slightly charred, but even more surprised.

"That's… my Jutsu…" he said. "How… did you…?"

"I figured you'd recognize _copying_ when you see it." He turned back to him. "But I guess I'm not that lucky." He turned on his rockets again, but this time, his hands turned cyan. Just then, Sasuke was enveloped in cyan light and unable to move. Metal came speeding up to Sasuke, until he released his "**Psychokinesis**" before hitting him in the stomach again. This time, the force was so strong, Sasuke coughed blood from the pressure. He was thrown back by this and seemed unconscious.

"_This_ is the famed survivor and avenger of the Uchiha clan?" he scoffed, then huffed. "I guess my eyesight really is that poor." Then he walked up to him. "Why do you rely so much on your own abilities? It's more fun to crush your foes with their techniques instead." Then he turned around and walked away. "Your **Sharingan** gives you the same abilities as me. You just have to put your sight on it."

Then, Sasuke struggled to get up. "Hm?" Metal wondered upon seeing this. Sasuke was staggering for a few minutes before he was tall upon his feet. He removed a hand from his chest as it stopped glowing. Metal chuckled. "I guess I am teaching you things after all."

"You're not the only one who's been teaching me." He remarked. Then he withdrew his sword and stood in another fighting position. His legs were bent and spread apart, he stood up straight and placed one arm behind his back and the other up straight with his palm to his face.

He was using **Strong Fist** Taijutsu.

"I have Kakashi to thank for this." He said as he leapt back toward his opponent.

XXXXX

Sonic's crew had recovered from the blast that Emerl and Metal Overlord caused. They were pretty exhausted, and Sonic had calmed down. Silver's hand glowed as he placed his hand on the shoulder of his allies. They quickly realized that, because of this, they were well enough to fight again.

"Sakura taught me how to heal injuries." He said. "It even works with my Psychokinesis." He looked over to Emerl, who was still struggling to get up. Silver walked over in concern.

"I'm fine." Emerl said. "I have an Auto-Repair function in my circuits. It was damaged for some time now; after I helped you guys beat Eggman. Silver's Psychokinesis was able to mend it back into place."

"Well, it's good to know you're still in tip-top shape." Sonic said. "We still need to beat down Metalhead over there."

"Sooner than you think…!" Shadow noted.

On that note, a large figure appeared from the wreckage and shot another energy blast. This one was coming in at full force and was too fast to dodge or block. The blast hit them, and they were engulfed in smoke. When the smoke cleared, they were surrounded in a giant cyan orb-shaped shield. This was "**Psycho Guard**!" and it really saved their lives.

"Nice one, Silver!" Sonic said. "You really saved our skins there!"

"T-That… wasn't me…" Silver stammered. They looked in front of them, and saw Emerl, who braced himself for impact and placed his hand in front of himself. Even he was stunned to see that he saved them.

"I thought you couldn't copy abilities anymore." Shadow interrogated.

"I…" he replied, "…guess my Auto-Repair's working better than I thought…" He reached into his side and pulled his Chaos Emerald out. He stared at it for ten seconds before giving a sigh of relief. "Well, I still can't merge with these things anymore."

"We'll have to make the best of that." Silver said.

Then a loud roar was heard and out from the wreckage leapt a gigantic beast. Metal Sonic changed shape again, but had taken the form of a colossal nine-tailed mechanical fox. He roared out to the sky before looking back down on his prey.

"Now you see…" he said, "Why I had benefit in killing Naruto as well!"

"You fool." Shadow said, "Strength does not exist in size."

"It exists within…" he replied. "This power was sealed away by that obnoxious Fourth Hokage, but he never expected people to invent exorcism. Now the power of a demon… no… the power of a _god_… exists within me…"

"Get real!" Sonic shouted. "I can still kick your metal butt all the way to the next chapter! You'll see!" Everyone else stood back in battle position.

"We will see…" He said as he charged a much larger energy ball. "We _will_ see!" He shot the ball and everyone leapt out of its way.

XXXXX

Naruto leapt toward Sasuke forming his usual "**Shadow Clone Jutsu**!" to jump over at Sasuke and perform several punches and kicks as well as feral scratches. Sasuke dodged most of them, and destroyed most of the Shadow Clones that continued on, despite Naruto still making more. Shikamaru formed a shadow field around himself and pulled out a pair of trench knives on his fists. He places his fist forward and threw shuriken at him with "**Shuriken Shadow Transform**!" They headed towards Sasuke with great force, but he was able to dodge many of them. Shikamaru moved his arms around to command the shuriken to follow Sasuke, who would continue to dodge them.

Gaara continuously tried to crush Sasuke with the use of **Sand Wall** and **Sand Coffin**, only for him to dodge them like he did once before. Sasuke reached his center and slashed him down, but only killed a sand clone. The real Gaara jumped back at him and thrust his arm to throw "**Sand Coffin**!" at him. He was enveloped in Sand as Gaara clutched his fist to perform "**Sand Burial**!" However, this was to no prevail, as he crushed a log. His shield of Sand appeared to block the real Sasuke's sword. Neji leapt in and performed his "**Eight Trigrams: 128 Palms**!" to continue striking at him until he could no longer move. This was to no prevail, as he leapt back and activated his Curse Seal to recover and try to regain the upper hand. He was stronger, but still no match for these numbers working together. Sakura had leapt in again to punch him, but he dodged and kicked her in the back. Naruto leapt up and caught her, still in fury of the fox.

"He's gotten stronger!" Sakura said.

"But Metal Sonic's not with him!" Naruto replied, "That's the important thing!"

Rock Lee leapt into the fray with his bandaged arms unraveling. He began running around Sasuke in rapid speed and turned directly towards him to kick him in the face with "**Primary Lotus**!" He was sent back, but threw his sleeves forward, using "**Striking Shadow Snake**!" to counterattack. One of the snakes managed to bite Lee in his arm, but he pulled it off and tossed it aside, rushing back to his opponent. He leapt upward and performed a spinning kick to counter the counterattack. He blocked most, but was hit back by the last one. Sasuke proceeded to shoot "**Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu**!" at Lee, but he dove down to dodge, but knelt over in pain, the poison taking effect.

Sakura rushed over to him and placed her hand on his arm. It glowed, and Lee grunted in small pain. She pulled out a bubble with black blotches in it with her "**Poison Removal Jutsu**" and cast it into a container.

"It's no longer harming you," she said, "but you should still relax right now." She mixed the poison with a medicinal herb, and made a potion that Lee showed no hesitation in drinking.

"Thanks, Sakura!" he said before jumping back into battle. "So much for relaxing…" she thought.

Naruto made one more Shadow Clone to form Chakra in his hand. It was quickly completed and Naruto lunged at Sasuke with his "**Rasengan**!" This hit him right on the mark, and he was sent flying back even further.

"Damn…" Sasuke thought. "I never thought I'd have to use this…" While thinking this, his Curse Mark spread further and his skin transformed into a darker shade.

XXXXX

Using the power of the Chaos Emeralds in their possession, the four fought through the energy blast and began coursing with power. Though it was only four Emeralds, they were as if as powerful as their Super alter-egos. They flew through the area, still in the same barrier because of their combined Chaos Control, and striking at Metal Sonic with their combined force. They shot multiple hits at him, but he tried to brush it off. He realized that the power of the Emeralds was beginning to fatigue him even with the Demon Fox at his disposal.

"So…" he thought. "It seems the Emeralds _are_ strong enough to fight this beast…"

"Metal Sonic seems to be weakening!" Silver exclaimed. "Now's our chance!"

They nodded, and held their Emeralds up to the air. The gems shone within their hand, and Metal was completely overcome by the light.

"**Chaos Control**!"

Upon this, the Emeralds gathered together and shone a light upon Metal Sonic. The light only burned at his body, and rather than sealing Metal Sonic, a red fiery light came rising from him and floating toward the light. The fire had taken the shape of a fox's face, and spiraling into a portal forming above the Emeralds. The light disappeared and the portal along with it. The Emeralds fell to the ground, and Metal Sonic was deteriorating to a much smaller shape: His original self.

The four walked up to him and picked their Emeralds, now blackened, back up as they walked to the fallen Metal Sonic.

"Well, now it's his turn…" Sonic said.

"But the Emeralds used a great deal of energy to seal that fire." Emerl said. "It'll take awhile for them to charge back up."

"It's best we make sure he doesn't go anywhere." Shadow said. Silver and Emerl nodded and lifted him up with Psychokinesis.

"You… fools…" Metal said, incredibly weakened. "…This will only damage my past self, and render me unstable for a long time…"

"We're aware of that." Sonic said. "We're gonna make sure you don't get the power to do this while we're still in the past."

Then, the Emeralds lit back up.

"Well…?" he asked. "Aren't you going to do it…?"

"Not just yet." Shadow said. Metal looked at him skeptically.

"We wanna make sure your partner's here to see this." Sonic said with a smirk.

"…You…" Metal said with hatred in his eye.

"Let's go." Sonic said. "But first…"

Then Sonic walked behind Metal and delivered a swift kick to his backside.

"I told 'ya I could still do that!"

"I… Hate… You…"

XXXXX

The shinobi were in a worse position. They were incredibly exhausted and were much depleted in chakra. They were on the verge of collapsing, even Naruto, who finally calmed down. Sasuke, however, had taken his Level-Two Curse Mark Stage, and was flying with a "**Chidori**!" ready for a fresh kill. He was coming in fast and headed straight for Naruto. He knew he was at his limit, and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable to come… waiting to fail his mission…

**CLANG**!

Sasuke's "**Chidori**" was countered by another lightning sword just like it. Only this one was being wielded by the one who taught it to him in the first place. The Copy Ninja with a **Mangekyo Sharingan** active in his left eye had countered with "**Lightning Blade**."

"Kakashi-Sensei…!" Naruto thought in wonder of his savior.


	13. To Change the Future

Chapter 13: To Change the Future

Back within the present, Sasuke proceeded against Metal Sonic by using the technique of **Strong Fist** he had previously copied from Rock Lee. This time, he was at an advantage. He was moving so incredibly fast that Metal couldn't copy his techniques. Sasuke had gotten him with direct punches and kicks, sending him back or to the ground before he can even realize what hit him. Then, Sasuke began to rapidly run around Metal Sonic in a very fast circle. Then, he turned directly in Metal's face and delivered a square blow with a kick with "**Primary Lotus**!" He was sent flying backward and fell into the forest about a mile behind him. Sasuke stood back into his position and readied himself again.

A loud and intense shriek of anger was heard before trees began to explode or topple over as Metal returned to the kill with all haste as his rocket was bursting him over in 200 miles per hour, as if tomorrow wouldn't come.

"I'm through playing games with you!!!" he shouted, "This will END it!!!"

"Fine by me." Was all he said as he formed a 'Tiger' hand seal, took a deep breath and awaited his foe to come. Metal was within a direct inch of Sasuke as he prepared his final attack.

"**Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu**!"

XXXXX

"I saw great potential in you…" groaned Kakashi as he and his former student had clashed lightning swords in the future. "I never dreamed it would come down to this…"

"Kakashi…" Sasuke replied, "You're ancient and decrepit…you have no right to be lecturing me."

Indeed this was true, for Kakashi did seem much older, though it was herd to tell, since he had always worn his trademark Jonin outfit and mask. Naruto had taken in the sight of Sasuke and Kakashi clashing to the death, something they always hoped to avoid, in sadness.

"Don't worry…" Kakashi said, gaining Naruto's attention. "If we can seal these two properly, then you will have a chance to change this."

"How do we do that, Kakashi-Sensei?" he asked with concern.

"First wait until Sonic brings Metal Sonic here…and you leave the rest to me."

As they released their jutsus, they leapt back to distance themselves easily. They shared a glare at each other before forming hand signs. To top it off, both sides displayed the exact same hand signs. It didn't take too long before they both cast "**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**!" to engulf the area in-between them in fire. Naruto, Sakura and the rest stood in a safe position outside the battle, and Gaara had finally calmed down, absorbing the sand around his body back into his gourd.

They formed handsigns again, this time creating "**Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu**!" to erupt the fountain nearby with the remaining water it had left, which was surprisingly a lot, to manipulate it in separate directions to throw at each other. As a result, they had apparently filled the entire area with water, and the continuous geyser in the center only added to that body.

"**Earth Style: Stalagmite Jutsu**!" was the next move, causing various points in the ground underneath the water to erupt onto both targets and attempt to pummel them from beneath. They only managed to avoid each point, making a several platforms that would normally be pointless because of their chakra control.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, Sonic, Shadow, Silver and Emerl were carrying Metal Sonic to the area Naruto entered so they could seal both him and Sasuke, disrupting the futuristic coup and giving them a chance to seek out the remaining Chaos Emeralds so they could return to Mobius and reprogram Metal Sonic.

They had quickly taken note of the tidal wave that came bursting through, and Silver floated above with levitation with Metal still in tow, Emerl with his rockets and Shadow with his hover shoes. Luckily for Sonic, Silver lifted him as well, and the group continued to float along the watery surface to continue their mission.

"Things must be pretty hectic up ahead." Shadow said.

"We gotta hurry!" Sonic said.

Silver and Emerl nodded in reply.

They began to float faster than usual this time.

XXXXX

"You're just as strong and annoying as ever, Kakashi-Sensei." Sasuke smirked. "And here I thought you were dead all these years." He remarked as he turned over to the Memorial statue.

"It takes a lot more than my own technique to kill me, you know that." Kakashi replied. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but you used '**Chidori**' twice in the same day, didn't you?"

Sasuke glared at this comment as he breathed heavily from exhaustion, something he had been experiencing since this whole fight began.

"Worst Case Scenario, Sasuke." He smirked.

Sasuke then proceeded to leap at his former master, and slashed through him. "POOF!" This was only a shadow clone, to his astonishment, and he pulled out a kunai and proceeded to form "**Thousand Years of Death**!" into Sasuke, who saw this coming and leapt, nay, _back-flipped_ over him and slashed him right across the stomach as he turned around.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!!!" Naruto and Sakura cried out in worry.

He was his pretty hard, but he was still standing for some reason. He looked back at Sasuke and gave what seemed to be a smirk under his mask. "Many years have passed…" he said as he pulled a scroll from his vest, spread the blood from his stomach onto its writing and began twirling it around as if he was ribbon dancing, "…and you're still slipping!" He closed his scroll placed it on the ground and performed, "**Summoning Tracking Fang**!" and the markings from the scroll began to scatter.

Sonic and company had finally arrived and positioned aside Naruto's group. "What's Kakashi doing here?!" Sonic asked. Neji looked back at him and said, "This is Kakashi of our time line, Kakashi of the future." Sonic and the rest stood on a stalagmite platform and watched the battle ensue.

Sasuke looked around and positioned himself for what would approach. He felt a hard rumbling underneath his feet, and then the Ninken dogs began to erupt from beneath _his_ stalagmite platform and bite at his ankles. He tried to avoid it, but before he could flee, four of the dogs leapt from around him and began to bite down on his body, along with rest of the eight. He screamed in pain, and stood still only because the dogs were biting at his ankles as well.

"I never thought…" Kakashi said as he walked over to Sasuke and the Water and Earth Jutsus were becoming undone. "…that it would come to this…" The spectators were about to walk over to the field, until he shouted, "STAY BACK!" causing them to get back into their safe shade. "…I saw great things in you, Sasuke. The last remaining member of the Uchiha clan, whose sole goal in life was to kill his own brother and revive his clan." He walked up to him and stood only a foot away from him. "Was revenge really worth this?" he asked sternly. "You've killed your brother, so that's one half down, but at what cost? The lives of the entire world alongside a psychotic robot clone of one of the greatest heroes that _you've_ ever killed? You even murdered the ones you could call your friends."

"What would you know about me?" Sasuke replied angrily and in pain. "My clan is in shambles because of him… and Metal offered me power to destroy him… power that fool Orochimaru couldn't offer… I did this so I could take this opportunity… to kill him… and our most hated rivals…" Sonic and Naruto were shocked by this. "The bonds of friendship never meant _anything_ to me. And you will never convince me otherwise."

"I don't have to." He said as he formed a hand sign and suddenly the sky became dark and Kakashi's hair and clothes began to hover. "Where you're going, you'll have an entire lifetime to think about what you've done." He formed another sign, and his dogs disappeared. He formed one last hand sign, and he performed the most horrifying jutsu known to mankind. A technique that only the most advanced in Ninjutsu can perform, that will kill its user and those who stand in its way. It was the same jutsu that sealed the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"**Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal**!"

Sasuke knew what was coming his way, and tried to flee, but Kakashi held his shoulders to submission him. What's more, his body was still in pain because of the severe dog bites on his person. He could only await the inevitable.

Behind Kakashi, a very horrifying figure appeared. It was a horrifying god with a ghastly appearance and a knife held in its mouth. One knew that upon seeing this, they knew a certain end was on their way.

"What the hell is that?!" Shadow remarked in amazement.

"The Reaper Death God." Sakura replied. "This entity is capable of sealing souls within its summoner, but in return, kills the summoner as well." They turned back to the scene.

Death placed its hand through Kakashi's back and reached into Sasuke's stomach. It then proceeded to pull out what looked like spiritual energy. To be more precise, it was stealing his soul. Sasuke took no attempt to resist, as he knew he couldn't. Kakashi glared at him, but was also intrigued by the fact that he didn't try to resist. You could even say that he was proud of him for finally acting like an honorable shinobi.

The last of Sasuke's soul was pulled into Kakashi and the Death god released his hand from Kakashi and disappeared with a maniacal cackle. After that, the sky turned back into the blue beauty above that people hadn't seen for years. Sasuke looked back at Metal Sonic, still in possession by Psychokinesis. Metal opened his eyes, and saw that Sasuke was sparkling and his body was slowly beginning to disappear. He glared at Metal, knowing it would never work out between them and world domination.

"Change this Future..." was all that Sasuke said to Naruto, Sonic and the rest. Naruto and Sakura began to cry as they realized that he wanted them to change this world. He placed the task of restoring this broken world in the hands of Naruto and Sonic. They knew that deep down; he knew this was not the right way. They both cried into Sonic's chest and he returned their hug.

Kakashi, who was surprisingly still standing, turned back to Naruto's group and beckoned them to come over to him. They all ran over, and he collapsed into Naruto and Sakura's arms. He looked up at them and said, "I guess all great legends have to die sometime."

As a seal appeared on his abdomen, Naruto knew it was the end for him. "I'll never forget you, Kakashi-Sensei."

"You really are from the past, aren't you?"

Naruto looked at him.

"You're still very naïve." He coughed and chuckled at the same time. "I always liked that about you. Naruto, the number one knucklehead ninja. You show as great potential as Sasuke. Things never came to you easy… but you never complained.'

"Kakashi-Sensei…" Sakura said as tears were pouring from her eyes.

"Become strong, Sakura." He replied. "You show great potential as well… You keep getting stronger. Your friends do need you… because you're not useless."

They both smiled and cried at this.

"That goes the same for all of you." He said. "You must continue fighting if you want to get strong enough to save the village…"

He turned back to Naruto, and said his final words as he closed his eye.

"Become… a strong… Hokage…"

Kakashi had died to save the entire world. It was complete silence. They didn't cry, because he asked them to be strong. They finally stood up and nodded to Sonic. His group nodded in response as the four of them pulled out their Chaos Emeralds.

"**Chaos Control**!"

Then the Emeralds began to levitate above them and orbit in a circle to form a portal. Metal Sonic levitated up to the portal, but had spoken before entering.

"For the record," he said, "I could have broken free at any time."

"So why wait?" Sonic asked.

"Because…" he said, "…You deserve better… you deserve a fighting chance."

As he reached into the portal, he finally said this…

"When I kill you… I want it to be a fair fight."

The portal finally closed, and everyone looked to the sky with a smile.

Sonic stuck his fist to the air and said, "So be it."

XXXXX

"Is this _really_ the power you have to offer?" Sasuke scoffed as Metal Sonic lay collapsed on the ground in front of him, unconscious and electricity visible outside his body.

"Why would I accept power from you if you don't even _have_ power to offer? And more importantly, overconfidence and lack of self control will always lead to an untimely end. A real warrior must have skill, cunning and patience to match their persistence. To await the right moment to strike, know your enemy's weaknesses and remain a step ahead of your enemy rather than yourself… That is the way of the Shinobi."

As he turned around, he said, "I'll tell Orochimaru you said hi."

Metal Sonic, still on the ground, was very furious. He was exhausted because his plan had failed. He had no energy to move, let alone speak. He used the last of his energy to say this:

"Damn you, Sonic."

XXXXX

In the future, now perfectly intact thanks to the time paradox, was basking in the warmth of a fine spring day, although, since not everything had been changed, the people who were dead were still dead. They would only return if they managed to fix everything.

As the entire group, now including Hinata, Temari, Team Konohamaru, Suki and the twins, were standing at the burial grave of Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja who saved the world in the end. But they knew that Kakashi, even in death, knew he couldn't have done it without the aid of the entire Freedom League and the heroes from the past.

This time, Hinata was wearing a lavender jacket with white sleeves and hood along with her blue pants.

"So now we've got another one dead." Temari said. "At least this one died saving the world."

"We do still have a chance to save all of this." Shikamaru said. "Sonic, Naruto, Shadow, Silver, Gaara and Emerl still have to go back and stop Metal Sonic in the present."

"It will take both the Leaf Village," Gaara said, "and the Sand Village to see this through to the end. I will become Kazekage one day, and I will defend both villages with pride," he turned over to Naruto, and smiled with his thumb in the air, "I'll need a partner to look after the Leaf Village."

Naruto smiled at this comment and returned the "Nice Guy" look.

Temari then knelt over to Gaara as best as she could to give him a kiss on his forehead. Gaara smiled further. Shikamaru helped her back up.

"Oh!" she gasped as she held her stomach. "What's wrong?" he replied.

"Nothing, just a really powerful kick." she replied, and then rubbed her belly with both her hands. "She's gonna become just her mother."

"She?" Shikamaru asked dumbfounded. "What a drag… I'm gonna give birth to a girl." Temari smacked him over the head. "Look at my figure, you sexist dumbass! You don't have to do _anything_! I guess that's one thing that'll never change about you." They looked into their eyes for two seconds before locking their lips in a romantic hold. Temari's belly was pressing on his, but he didn't care. Everyone else either smiled or stared with mild disgust.

Rock Lee looked up to the sky with Suki on her shoulder and they smiled.

"I'll see you soon, Guy-Sensei." Lee said. Suki pecked him on the cheek at the thought of this and said, "We'll be seeing Mom and Dad, too!" She hugged him before saying, "Today's a good day, Lee-Sensei!"

"Lee-Sensei!" he said in a goofy smile. "I'm never gonna get tired of that."

Hinata looked over at the happiness that returned to this world and smiled. Her twins were feverishly trying to squeeze her breasts, so she smiled again, opened her shirt, unhooked her bra, and smiled as her babies were enjoying their meal. She walked over to Naruto and stood by Sakura.

"Who do you love, Naruto?" she asked skeptically. "Me or Sakura?" Sakura heard this and looked over to her.

Naruto was sweating very profusely and blushing tomato red as he looked back and forth between them. He groaned very loudly and held his head with both hands in confusion.

"I can't decide!!!" he moaned.

"You shouldn't decide." Hinata replied. Naruto looked back at her.

"If you are in love with two girls, but unable to choose, then don't." she said with a strict tone of voice. "It wouldn't be fair to choose between them, nor would it be fair to choose them both at the same time." She knelt down to him, still clutching the twins to her breasts. "You should give it thought and work into it. And if you believe the one you truly love is meant for you, then you must let your heart decide."

Naruto looked back and smiled at her wisdom. He then turned skeptical and said, "That seems pretty unlike you, Hinata."

She smiled and said, "I owe it all to you." Then she kissed him on the cheek. "You gave me confidence for years and that's why I always felt this way about you."

Naruto smiled as she got back up. The babies finished feeding and looked over at their young daddy. Hinata smiled and walked over to him. "Nina and Teo." She said. "Those are their names." She held them up to him. "Would you like to hold them?" she asked, but Naruto began to sweat and blush even more. "Don't be shy." She said, "Every new father is nervous sometimes."

"That," Sakura replied, "And you forgot to close your sweater."

Hinata quickly realized Sakura was right. She blushed and covered her chest with her arms, realizing she still needed to hook her bra. She was embarrassed, but also found it kind of funny and pleasuring that Naruto had seen her topless.

Naruto giggled mindlessly, holding the babies in his arms, before turning his attention back to them. They were snuggling in his arms and opening their eyes to look up to him. They were blue. They were Hyuga family eyes, like Hinata, but they were blue, like his. Naruto looked nervously, but they smiled at their daddy. He moved one of his arms so the other could hold them both, and he rubbed their heads with his hands. Teo, the boy grabbed Naruto's index finger with his tiny little hands and giggled. Naruto smiled at that and as Nina, the girl had fallen asleep in his arms.

"I think my heart just chose." He said. Hinata and Sakura looked at each other, smiled and looked back at Naruto and nodded. Naruto handed the babies back to Hinata and turned to Sakura. "I promise that I will bring Sasuke back." He said with a smile. "I won't forget that anytime soon!" Sakura smiled and pulled him in for a hug.

"So what are you planning, Silver?" Neji asked. "The world is mostly complete. You can stay here and call it a victory if you like."

Silver shook his head. "I made a promise. Until the world is properly restored, they still need my help." He held his hand out to him. "Promise me that even in the proper future, that you won't forget about us." Neji shook it in response and smiled. "Like Naruto's mission, it is the promise of a lifetime."

Silver, Gaara and Naruto went back to Sonic, Shadow and Emerl. Then thy discussed their next move.

"Let's all regroup in the Leaf Village for now." Shadow said. "Gaara and I will return to the Sand Village with the rest of our groups to monitor progress from there."

"Sounds good." Sonic said. "The rest of us will remain in the Leaf Village."

"Metal Sonic fled from us." Emerl said. "He could be anywhere."

"But we put him out of the contest for the most part!" Naruto said. "He's not going anywhere for a while! Believe it!"

"I believe it!" Sonic said. "For now, let's focus on finding the rest of the Chaos Emeralds." They held their Emeralds in the air. "Our search is already half over!"

They nodded and used "**Chaos Control**!" to open a time rift and return to the past. Everyone smiled at their courage and applauded their accomplishment.

XXXXX

Back in the present, Metal Sonic flew across the daytime sky with all speed. But the fact of the matter is, he was being _carried_ across the daytime sky with all speed. His rescuer was flying as fast as he could with the rockets on his feet to find shelter for his new master. Underneath his Star-shaped forehead was a look of determination and pure hatred.

Eggman's favorite assassin needed a method of healing, and fast.


	14. Our Next Move

Chapter 14: Our Next Move

When the group returned to the present, they each went their separate ways. Shadow and Gaara returned to the Sand Village to regroup with Temari and the rest, who returned prior to the adventure, realizing they'd come back. Silver and Emerl went to Tails apartment, knowing Blaze was there as well as something Tails worked on that would be crucial to the mission. Sonic and Naruto went to Tsunade's office to access the situation with her and work on a plan to fight back.

Silver and Emerl went into the apartment after Chris had answered the door for them. Blaze was the first to arrive to Silver's person and talk with him.

"What happened recently?" she asked.

"Metal Sonic is down for the count," he replied, "for now."

She simply nodded while Chris raised an eyebrow. "What does Metal Sonic have to do with all this?" he asked.

"He isolated the future world." Emerl replied. "But we managed to cripple him for the most part. At least now he won't meet with Sasuke and double the world's destruction."

Blaze turned to Silver. "I heard that you-"

"I know." He replied. "That was a misunderstanding…and I'm sorry I disobeyed your advice…"

"You're still naïve…" she replied. "…but I have nothing against your determination." Then she looked strongly at him. "It's Sakura Haruno you should apologize to."

Silver nodded.

"So what's the next move?" Chris asked skeptically.

"We seek out the rest of the Chaos Emeralds." Emerl replied. "We'll need them to return to Mobius… Also, we have to find Metal Sonic so Dr. Eggman can reprogram him."

Chris nodded.

"Sonic and Naruto went to tell Lady Tsunade about the situation." Silver continued. "If anyone should know, she should."

"Well, if the situation is that serious," said Tails, who had been listening in on the discussion and entered the room, "then we have to bring them both here as soon as we can." He wiped his greasy gloves with a cloth. "I finished my 'project.' Now we just need everyone we know to know about it."

They all nodded. They exited the door and went their separate ways in the Village. Silver knew where he had to go first.

XXXXX

"Sonic, I'm not that fast!!" Naruto called out to Sonic who was halfway up the 2-3rd floor stairs while Naruto just walked the first step. Sonic stopped in realization of this, and ran back down to him, grabbed his hand and ran back up. Naruto was incredibly exhausted after this. "...Not exactly what I had in mind… can we just walk the rest of the way?"

Sonic sighed and said "Fine…" and the two began to walk along the hall.

They had only been walking for a minute before they stopped to see someone walking just in their direction: Exactly who they needed to see, walking her pet pig.

"Lady Tsunade!!" Naruto called out. "We gotta tell you something!!" he stood there, while she continued walking and said nothing. "L-Lady Tsunade?" he asked, getting similar results. "Listen, there's this guy trying to destroy the world and we must do--"

A deafening slapping sound was heard as Tsunade smacked Naruto across the face. Sonic was astonished at this, as Naruto had a red hand print on his cheek, followed by it swelling to the size of a tennis ball.

"WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR?!?" he asked violently after shouting "OUCH" when the slap hit him.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, you little Bastard!" she shot back.

Naruto glared and raised an eyebrow at the same time.

"Did you even stop to _think_ about my student's feelings before shouting in her face?!" she continued, causing him to look apologetically.

"That's right…" Sonic realized, "You were pretty hard on her, Naruto."

They looked out the window to see Sakura sitting in a tree hugging her knees and crying. She was wearing her forehead protector actually on her forehead, and looked out to the skies in sorrow, tears still pouring from her eyes.

"She has always been self-conscious of her forehead." Tsunade empathized. "She had parents, but no friends. She was picked on because of her forehead's size. Not even those parents would acknowledge that she was miserable." They glanced to the right. "Ino was her very first friend. She helped her realize that it doesn't matter how you look outside, but who you are on the inside." She looked back at Naruto and Sonic. "You and Sasuke became her best friends in the whole wide world. She fell in love with him, and she acknowledged both your strengths. You were a team, and it tore her apart to see that team fall apart."

Naruto and Sonic looked down in sympathy.

"My point is that she was alone to start, and losing the best friends she's ever had is the very same as not having any at all."

Naruto looked back up to her. "You want me to apologize?"

"No." she said, earning yet another eyebrow. "_You_ want you to apologize."

"If you truly do care about her, then you must tell her of your own intentions." She walked along. "Come on, Sonic. You wanted to tell me something." Sonic nodded and followed after, leaving Naruto to stand alone in thought.

"THERE HE IS!!!" shouted a furious voice in anger.

Naruto looked behind himself to see Ino, Tenten and Amy blazing furiously at him, most likely because Sakura cried her heart out to them, and running over to beat the holy crap out of him like there was no tomorrow. Naruto had to regroup later, and run now if he knew what was good for him.

XXXXX

"So what's our current situation?" Tsunade asked Sonic, who came into the office to discuss just that.

"Eggman told you one of his robots turned on him, didn't he?" Sonic asked skeptically.

"He said that this robot learned of our world long before you guys did, and sought out someone who was dark enough to set our fate in stone." She looked down in thought. "He must have meant Sasuke."

"And Metal Sonic." Sonic replied. "He's a robot who looks like me, and is even designed to match my strengths and capabilities. But he's grown his own mind and determination to stop me, as well as the power to copy data from living individuals, and goal of world conquest."

Tsunade returned with, "He said your teleporter and Metal Sonic was built with a similar material, causing the reason he knows about this world." She placed her hand to her chin and gave it some thought. "What do you suggest we do now?"

"I suggest we seek out the rest of the Chaos Emeralds." Sonic replied.

"We've already got three, and the Sand Village has one. And we met with Sasuke earlier, but he fled before we could interrogate him, but he had one, too. That only leaves two to find and one to take back. I'm just hoping Shadow's feeling generous when we need it."

"We have our next step, but what of Metal Sonic?" she asked.

"We put him out of commission for now. But we will need to find him as well, so we can get Dr. Eggman reprogram him. We'll just have to take this slow and easy."

Tsunade nodded.

Then a cloud of smoke appeared again, and Jiraiya appeared again upon another large frog. This one was larger than the previous and wore a similar coat to Gamabunta. He also had red skin and black spots and he had a belt with a sword and gloves. He almost looked like a younger Gamabunta. Also on his back were smaller frogs, one was red and swarthy-looking; the other was yellow and chubby.

"I came to file a report, Tsunade." Jiraiya said.

"I would much rather if you use the door from now on, Jiraiya." She replied.

"Who're you supposed to be?" Sonic asked skeptically.

"Name's Jiraiya." He replied before striking a funky pose atop the frog's back and saying, "The Toad Sage!" The two frogs jumped aside him and also struck poses.

Sonic and Tsunade were unamused.

"And I assume," he replied with a grin, "that you're the Hedgehog I've heard so much about!"

"Just call me Sonic!" he replied, striking a pose with intrigue.

"He's one of the Sannin," Tsunade invoked, "like myself and Orochimaru."

Sonic looked at the two with intrigue.

"Anyway," Jiraiya said, "I have important matters to discuss with you."

Sonic was quickly concerned with the presence of the three frogs that appeared into the room. Tsunade and Jiraiya were discussing their matters while Sonic spoke with the frogs.

"You guys look a lot like Gamabunta, the Chief Toad." He said.

"That is because," the largest one spoke, having a female voice, "he is our father."

"You've really got yer work cut out for you," the smug one said, "if you know our pop."

"How do you know daddy?" The chubby one asked.

"Naruto summoned him earlier," Sonic said, "and with his help, we were able to get this." He answered as he pulled out the Chaos Emerald.

"Oooooo…" the chubby one said, "Shiny…"

"Hey, sis!" said the small red one to the big one. "I don't think we've been quite formal lately. Let's tell this guy who we are!"

"I question your new manners, brother," the large frog said, "but I see your point." She turned back to Sonic. "Allow us to introduce ourselves."

The small red one stepped forward. "I'm Gamakichi, the Propitious Toad!"

Then the yellow one. "I'm Gamatatsu, the Toad Dragon!"

"And I am Gamayue," the large one said, "The Toad Moon."

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Back with Tsunade and Jiraiya, they discussed important matters regarding recent events. Tsunade finished explaining what Sonic told her and listened intently for what Jiraiya had to say.

"So not only is the Orochimaru from earlier a fake," Jiraiya said, "but he's also a megalomaniacal robot intent on global and inter-dimensional conquest."

Tsunade nodded.

"Well, our concern must wry away from that for now." He replied. "I must also put Naruto's training on hold a little while longer." He looked into her eyes with further intent. "I heard a bit of a rumor…"

"Y'know, Sonic," Gamakichi said, "Pops said it was very interesting to see you in that forest the other day."

"Really?" he replied. "How come?"

"He said he took one look at you," Gamatatsu said, "and saw a sparkle of Destiny within your eyes." He crossed his arms. "He also couldn't help thinking he saw you somewhere before, as well."

Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Father's notability for all things of the world never escapes his eyes." Gamayue said. "Perhaps you've encountered him previously?"

Sonic thought for a minute. "No… Can't say that I have…"

"Maybe dad's just getting' Senile." Gamakichi scoffed.

"Kichi!" Yue shouted. "You know you aren't allowed to speak of Father in that manner." She crossed her arms. "We shall see a punishment for you when we get home."

Tatsu and Sonic looked at each other. "Are they always like this?" Sonic asked. "Kichi's just a little spoiled." Tatsu replied. "And that annoys Yue a lot."

"So…" Tsunade thought aloud, "…Itachi may be here again, eh?"

"Could be…" Jiraiya nodded, "But it's just a rumor. Could be just a common criminal impersonating him, or another member of Akatsuki…" He looked back at her. "But if Itachi is here, then he can't get close to Naruto, nor can Naruto be aware of my presence." He pulled out a scroll and walked back. "I will remain hidden in the village and keep up my research… In the mean time…"

"Sonic, was it?" he asked, getting Sonic's attention. "Take this scroll to Naruto."

"Okay," he replied, taking the scroll. "Why?"

"It's for his training. And more importantly, take him to his apartment and make sure he stays there. Don't ask why, because I'm on a very important schedule. All you need to know is that someone is here and could endanger him."

Sonic nodded, but looked very confused.

"I'm counting on you." He said, as he and the Gama siblings disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Sonic still looked very confused, but still held onto the scroll.

"What kind of hurry is he in?"

Tsunade walked up to him and whispered into his ear. Her breasts pressed onto his shoulder, but he didn't care, because what she told him was one of his greatest hassles other than Dr. Eggman.

"Heh." Sonic scoffed. "And I thought _I_ had girl problems."

"Take the scroll to Naruto," Tsunade said, "then find Jiraiya, and _mess him up_."

Sonic flashed his thumb to her and said, "You got it!" before speeding off.

XXXXX

Six years ago, at the Konoha Ninja Academy, one day was rather upsetting for three certain would-be-ninja. Young Naruto, who was very alone and miserable because no one would go near him, sat alone in one desk, while Sasuke, who was the lone survivor of his clan, and Sakura, who was ridiculed by the size of her forehead, and no one would console her, sat at two different desks.

Some of the students gossiped about the three. Some of it was positive, and others were negative. Most of the positive ones were focused on Sasuke, as compassion for having his family killed and his dreams shattered. Naruto received glares from the children whose mothers told them to stay away from the "fox boy" and Sakura received quick glances followed by just as quick turns and giggles.

The three of them were clearly depressed, and sat back to their desks in sorrow. Six other students, who would later, along with the three, become the Rookie Nine, looked at them with sorrow. They turned back to each other and nodded, when they realized just the right thing to do. Iruka, who had just finished giving them a lesson, called out to the class, and received a quick question from Kiba in the back.

"Hey, Iruka-Sensei?" he asked. "The six of us seem very uncomfortable with our seats. Do you think we could move up, just a little?"

"Bark, Bark!"

Iruka looked back at them, shot them a questionable look, and darted back to the three lonely children in front of them. He looked back at them and smiled. "Okay." He replied. "You may pick any seat you like." In return, the six students moved down forward one desk down to console the respective loners. Ino and Hinata moved over to Sakura, Kiba and Choji moved over to Naruto, and Shino and Shikamaru went down to Sasuke. They looked back to them, and each other and they all smiled. Hinata and Shikamaru glanced at Naruto. Shikamaru winked. Hinata blushed.

Later on, the nine of them sat aside each other to have lunch together. They each convinced the three to sit aside each other, because the three of them were lonely and that was a quality they shared in common. They agreed to it, as later on, the three sat aside each other, and smiled. They looked into each others' eyes and somehow felt they would become a team someday. By ironic coincidence, the six students who consoled them smiled at them from the desks next to them. Kiba, Hinata and Shino smiled from the left, and Ino, Shikamaru and Choji from the right.

XXXXX

Sakura reflected upon that day as well as recent events that had happened. She finished crying and had taken off her forehead protector and looked into it to see her reflection on it. She looked into it more, and imagined Naruto and Sasuke standing alongside her, giving her a hug and a friendly pat on the shoulder. When the images disappeared, she took a long sigh before looking into it to see a familiar image, feeling sorry for her from the look in his eyes.

"It's never fun to be alone." Silver said. "You'll always be able to move on if you have people to count on you, look up to you, and you can depend on in return…" He looked into his hand and closed it before setting it aside himself. "…I wish I had realized that before I attacked him."

Sakura looked back once before turning back to her headband. "My forehead is huge…" she started to cry again as she put it back on. "…I'm just a freak."

"Says who?" Silver asked with concern. "How does that make you different than anybody else?" He walked over and knelt down to her. "This feature makes you significant. In fact, I bet you're a lot smarter than the other girls in your class." He then proceeded to untying her forehead protector hand placing it back on top of her head. "Your intellect is now available for the world to see." He looked back to the sky, as did she. She looked into the shining sun and smiled, as she wiped away her last tear.

"There are those who realize just what the truth is on their own," He proceeded to take her hand, "and there are those who need it from just the right person." Sakura looked into his eyes and realized just what he was talking about. She remembered when she cried for Sasuke, Silver let him go, and that just now, he gave her the confidence she lost.

"Take this," he said, releasing her hand, revealing the White Chaos Emerald in it now, "as a lucky charm, and a token of my apology."

She nodded and held it to her heart. "I wish it could bring Sasuke back…" she said.

"That is not my place to be, right now." He replied. "But there is only one who can and will do that. I know… and you know."

She looked back at him just as he leapt over to the ground. He was preparing to run, and began doing so. He was rather fast. Almost fast enough to match Sonic. This time, he wasn't even using his Psychokinesis.

XXXXX

Naruto was walking along the neighborhood and was surprisingly battered. He had a black eye, bruises on his arms and body, which were revealed by his shirt and jumpsuit, which he still wore, but uncovered enough to see them, he still had the swollen cheek, and he was limping slightly. Presumably from the sympathy-for-Sakura-beat-down he received earlier. He was moaning until he took a look up into the tree.

"H-hey… Sakura…" he groaned, very exhausted.

"Naruto!" she replied, "What happened to you?!"

He fainted before replying, however.

When he woke up, he was lying in a hospital bed, with Sakura applying the finishing touches of his healing.

"You are a dope, you know that?" She smirked.

Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his head in reply. She placed an icepack on his eye, and he proceeded to hold it there.

"You were alone like me in a way, weren't you?" He asked.

She blinked at this and felt her forehead, rubbing it to notice the size.

"I never thought any less of you for that and never will." He replied, smiling at her when she looked back. "The three of us were a team… and we still are." He shot his thumb up to the air in her direction. "Promise of a Lifetime, remember?"

She looked back at him and smiled. "I'm sorry..." She said, "...about yelling at Gaara. I overreacted back there..." Naruto shook his head, asking her not to worry about it.

There was a knock on the door, and Sakura went over to answer it.

"Hey there!" Sonic yelled. "I gotta give this to you real quick!"

Sonic gave the scroll to Naruto, and looked back at him to say, "Go to your apartment, and don't come out for the rest of the night." He rushed back outside, keeping his busy schedule, despite how freakishly fast he could run. Jiraiya didn't give him every detail, but he'd have to make the best of it.

XXXXX

Sonic headed over to the hot springs and hid in a bush nearby to look at what Tsunade asked him to. And what luck. He saw Jiraiya sitting on its roof, peeping down at the girls with a telescope. They were clad in towels and splashing water at each other, all the while giggling. This caused Jiraiya to giggle as blood dripped from his nose.

"This'll make the cover to next addition for sure!" he thought to himself. He scooted himself up for a closer look. One of the girls towel was a little loose, and he was even bloodier in anticipation of what would happen next.

Sonic couldn't see this from his bush, but he snickered before placing his index finger and thumb n his mouth, taking a five second deep breath, and shot out a loud whistle, just as the girl's towel fell off from Jiraiya's point of view. Jiraiya heard this, and shot his head up, putting him in view for the girls, who screamed and threw rocks while the one girl put her towel back on.

He tried to dodge them, but heard another whistle, causing him to look back and have a large stone hit him o the back of the head. He tumbled off the roof, and fell to the ground unconscious.

"My work here is done." Sonic said as he stepped out of the bush and sped off.

XXXXX

As Sonic was running, he couldn't help but notice that the air was getting very foggy. He came to a stop as he stood at the bridge across the river. He stopped not only because he couldn't navigate in fog, but also because the fog seemed a bit… suspicious somehow… He stood his ground in that one spot, waiting for something or someone to come out.

"I know someone is hiding here." Sonic said. "Why don't ya come out and play, if that's what you want?"

"You certainly know your surroundings." The voice said, "But just hope it doesn't affect you in ways that could harm, or otherwise, kill you."

"What makes you say that?" He asked perceptively.

Out from the fog came a figure that stood in front of him and had his eyes closed. He was wearing a black coat with red cloud markings dotted all over it. He was wearing a circular pointed hat, but removed it to show his face. He had semi-long black hair and wore a Konoha headband that had a scar across the leaf. His fingernails were painted and he was wearing a ring on one of them. He opened his eyes to reveal them to be red.

"My name is Itachi Uchiha." He said. "I have been looking forward to meeting you, Sonic the Hedgehog."


	15. Eyes that Pierce the Mind

Chapter 15: Eyes that Pierce the Mind

Tsunade groaned within her office as she read her reports, incredulously unhappy about the arrival of a member of Akatsuki within the village. Just as she was about to claw her desk to shreds, there was a knock on the door. "Enter."

Nobody saw us, like you asked." Kakashi said. Alongside him were Guy, Asuma and Kurenai. They had entered the office to discuss this exact matter.

"Good." She sighed. "There's something important I need to tell you about."

"Well," Asuma said, "Let's hear about it."

"Jiraiya came in a little while ago. He said that there was a rumor going on about a member of Akatsuki in the village."

"Again?" Kurenai gasped. "You don't think it could be Itachi, do you?"

"If that's the case," Guy stated, "We'd better keep Naruto in the village at all costs."

"No need." Tsunade nodded, "I had Sonic take care of it."

"Well, that is fortunate..." Kakashi puzzled, "but what if the members of Akatsuki find Sonic?"

"That's exactly what worries me..." Tsunade groaned. "I know Sonic is skilled, but I have no idea what kind of chance he has with Itachi...if it is him..."

"And you want us to back him up?" Asuma asked.

"And be quick about it." She said with a firm look on her face. "Keep a sharp eye on Naruto as well."

"Got it." Kakashi nodded. Then, he looked back at his companions, who nodded in response. They justly made their exit.

XXXXX

"So," Sonic said as he glanced his opponent, "You're Sasuke Uchiha's brother?"

"You were told much, weren't you?" Itachi replied.

"I was told enough. I heard you killed your entire clan."

"If one seeks power, one must also put it to the proper test."

"Heh...You really do live up to that horrible reputation."

"I try."

Sonic then spread his feet apart and held his hands in the air as if to prepare for combat. "I suppose it wouldn't be too much trouble to ask why you're here?"

Itachi then placed a hand to his side and threw a kunai out to him. Sonic then leapt up in the air and flipped backward, landing a half a foot behind himself. "I heard good things about you." Itachi said. "I heard you do well in combat. I wanted the honor of seeing that reputation for myself."

"Well, all you had to do was ask." Sonic replied, cracking his knuckles and neck.

"I don't suppose you've got room for one more in this fight?" a voice called out from the mist.

Suddenly, a figure walked in through the thick fog that Itachi arrived through. It was another man, wearing a black coat exactly like his, collar past his neck and red clouds polka dotted all over it. His skin was pale blue and he had thick markings under his beady eyes that almost looked like gills. He wore a headband over his mildly upright hair that had a slash through it, like Itachi's, but this symbol was four diagonal lines alligned in a square pattern. None of this was as noticable as the gigantic bandage wrapped sword he held over his back. He shot a grin at Sonic, which had sharp looking teeth.

"And who're you supposed to be?" Sonic asked skeptically.

"I thought you were taught of common courtesy to introduce yourself before asking your enemy to do so?" the man replied, earning a glare in reply. "But I'll let it slide since I already know who you are." Then he walked over to Itachi's side.

"My name is Kisame Hoshigaki." he introduced, "And I'm looking forward to shaving those spikes off your head."

XXXXX

"I think Sonic's been spending too much time with Grandma..." Naruto groaned as he finished sweeping his house. Cleaning it was the only thing he could do since he couldn't leave. He had no clue why, but he trusts Tsunade's wisdom, so he did as he was told.

"What exactly was it he gave me, anyway?" He wondered as he glanced the large scroll over at his doorstep. "Wait a second..."

He rushed over to it as he quickly realized what it was he was given. He opened the scroll after reading the insignia, the exact same on a certain sage's forehead, to find complicated writings in it. "This is from Pervy Sage!"

He read the scroll intently before realizing, "Why couldn't he just train me himself?"

Outside of Naruto's window, hiding from the side of the rooftops of Naruto's apartment were two of the Jonin leaders, doing exactly as they were told.

"Well, Naruto's safe." Asuma sighed. "I can only worry about Sonic now..."

"It can't be helped." Kurenai replied. "Kakashi and Guy are already on their way now. I just hope nothing happened to them along the way..."

XXXXX

This is pretty unfortunate..." Guy thought aloud as he and Kakashi continued to run through the mist and only see even more of it. "This is definitely that Kisame guy's work."

"It can only mean that we're getting close if we're seeing mist..." Kakashi agreed, but still felt unsure as he unveiled his headband and opened his eye, "...unless that Itachi were trying to impede our progress somehow..."

"Whaddya mean?" Guy wondered.

"I mean it's completely unusual that all we're seeing is mist." Kakashi crossed. "I think we've fallen under a Genjutsu."

"Y'know, I think you're right." Guy agreed. They held their hands in a seal and invoked "**Release**!" Then the mist faded, revealing not the village path, but a series of trees. In fact, it was more obvious once they saw the huge gate ahead. "What the?!"

"This is unbelievable..." Kakashi thought. "The mist...led us to the village entrance!"

"I think it's safe to assume that we won't be able to get any closer to Sonic at this point..." Guy distressed.

"You're right." Kakashi replied. "They don't want us to interfere, so Itachi infused Kisame's mist with Genjutsu..."

"This is very bad..." They both thought.

XXXXX

"I heard a good deal about you as well." Sonic said. "I heard you killed a General."

"I do have my work cut out for me." Kisame selfishly agreed.

"Me too." Sonic nodded. "...for a total Psychopath."

"Enough." Itachi invoked. "Well then, Mister Sonic. I heard you are incredibly fast...But are you fast enough to dodge..." Just as he paused, Sonic felt a kick from behind him, saying "...this?" but he managed to retaliate by landing on his hands and spinning back to kick him in return. "POOF!" Sonic gasped as he kicked the Shadow Clone, and the real Itachi, still aside his partner, took a deep breath and blew out "**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**!" As Sonic realized what was coming, he crouched down and jumped high into the air. While still sky high, the fire quickly evaporated as a geyser of water, with the top of its flow shaped like a shark charged up to him. Sonic thought fast and curled up into a ball and spun down with great succession, cutting through the "**Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu**."

Sonic stood his ground as he retook his normal position. Then h bolted off towards his opponents like Lightning. He leapt up and proceeded for another "**Spin Attack**!" but was quickly blocked by Kisame's massive sword. As Sonic revved onto the bandaged blade, small sparks skidded off of it. When Sonic was struck off the weapon, he stood his ground, but knelt over in pain as there were several bruises on his arms and legs.

"Do you like it?" Kisame joyfully said, "My Sharkskin doesn't cut. It cleaves."

He quickly brushed it off as Sonic leapt back over again, this time shooting his foot out. Itachi cut through and drew a sword from his side to slash Sonic. But he managed to block it with the metal-rimmed soles of his shoes. For a quick while, they traded off kicks and swipes as sparks flew from both sides. Itachi was able to brush Sonic off his sword as he flew back a small deal. Sonic was about to head back and fight, but coughed slightly as he realized where he landed. He held his breath in as he realized his greatest fear had encased him within an orb. And Kisame made it by holding his hand out!

Sonic wondered a bit how he got there so fast, but looked back at the assassins to see that Kisame was still standing aside Itachi. He realized this must be a clone, and got an idea. He curled up in his usual ball form and began to spin. He spun further and further, faster and faster as his body began to envelop in light. Slowly, but surely, the Water Prison began to steam. As the steam grew, it began to show on the Kisame Clone as well. Before long, the friction became too much for them, and they evaporated as if like an explosion. Sonic jetted out so fast, neither Itachi nor Kisame could see him bash into the former so herd that he spewed blood in the process. As Kisame prepared to cut away at him, Sonic uncurled from his position, leapt up before the sword could touch him and spun back down on Kisame, knocking his face into the dirt. Sonic leapt back and stood his ground.

"I'm glad your wish came true." Sonic snickered. "I'm too fast even for you!"

"I see..." Itachi said, as he stood up and wiped his mouth. "Your reputation really does proceed you." Then he closed his eyes as Kisame, who could barely look, let alone stand, smirked. "Let's see how fast you are..." He slowly opened his eyes, revealing them to be not only red, but the three black pupils before were now shaped like a three-pointed Shuriken. "...for my next trick."

Sonic looked into his eyes, and suddenly felt as though his body was motionless. He couldn't even notice it because this sight was so mesmerizing. He was trapped in his own little world...or to be more precise, he was trapped in Itachi's. Sonic stood in the center of a gigantic circle that looked exactly like Itachi's eyes. He also couldn't help but notice that everything except this eye was colored like an X-Ray.

"What is this?" Sonic asked. "Is this some kind of trick, Itachi?"

"It's no ordinary trick." He replied. Suddenly, four Itachis rose up from the ground, their eyes also red, and drew swords to their sides. Then, two more rose up and did the same...and two more...and two more...and two more...Sonic stood his ground and prepared for battle. "Welcome to your doom, Sonic the Hedgehog...**Tsukuyomi**...the world of the **Mangekyo Sharingan**." As the Itachis continued to rise up, Sonic prepared himself for a very terrifying battle. As they all had their swords drawn and at the ready, Sonic readied himself even more intently. Then, something he almost didn't count on happened.They each rose their free hand and brought it to their mouths. They held their first two fingers up in the air and began to breathe. Sonic blinked and readied himself to jump. Their breathsgrew further and before he knew it, they released them.

"**Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu**!"

The blaze blew to the center as Sonic leapt high up to save his life. As the flames spread around the ring, seeming not to touch Itachi in the slightest, Sonic knew he had to take an emergency precaution. From his person, he performed a quick horizontal spin and pulled out a golden ring. As it flashed, he felt great power coursing through his body and began to curl up and spin vertically. As he span, he instantly began to envelop in massive plummeting force, as though he were a meteorite. He slammed down in a massive "**Meteor Bound Jump**" and crashed dead center within the supernova. A massive force wave blew out from the impact that blew the Akatsuki member(s) away, disappearing in the shadow of smoke they came from. As they continued to rise, Sonic cracked his neck, smiled and leapt up again. He dashed forth towards the emotionless stampede and took them out one by one with a **Homing Attack **of quick succession. As they continued to disappear in smoke, they continue to rise back up. Sonic leapt off of one and flipped to the edge of the arena. He curled himself up and began spinning faster and faster. As they closed in on him, he let loose and cleaved through the hoard as though he were a meteorite yet again. They flew off as they felt the full force of this attack and evaporated yet again. But as expected, they rose up and drew their weapons again.

Sonic grinned as a droplet of sweat trickled from behind his ear.

XXXXX

"Okay, Kakashi." Guy called out as he shot a thumbs up. "It's ready!"

"Got it!" He replied. He held his hands together and flashed four signs with them. He lifted his finger and invoked "**Sealing Jutsu: Activate**!" On this note, a small scroll that Guy had written in front of Kakashi began to levitate and unfold. As it opened, the fog that had covered the village had slowly begun to dissipate. As it did, a symbol began to form on the open space left on the scroll. Second by second, the mist grew weaker and the symbol grew larger. Once a symbol that said "**Absorption**" appeared on the scroll, the Genjutsu induced mistwas all but gone. Kakashi walked up and folded up the scroll.

"We've got no more time to waste." Kakashi said. Guy simply nodded and the two ran off into the village.

XXXXX

Sonic fought off the endless respawning Itachis for what seemed to be hours. This time had finally taken its toll on Sonic as he could barely stand and sweat was dripping from his nose and face. One single Itachi within the force grinned as he noticed this. Sonic noticed and assumed he was the original.

"Aren't you tired?" He insidiously asked.

"Nah." Sonic replied with optimism. "I'm just getting warmed up!"

"I'm glad you feel that way." He complied. "A minute has already passed. This is only the beginning."

"You bet it is!" Sonic agreed. He paused for three seconds before he realized "Hey, wait a minute! That can't be right! We've been at it for hours!"

"Time and space move at my command in Tsukuyomi, Sonic." Itachi chuckled. "In what little time we spent, I am already running you ragged." Sonic attempted to reply with another spin dash, but as he knelt, he knelt in pain, not to spin. As he breathed heavily, he realized Itachi was right. He looked up to face his foe, but saw that he was already up in his face!

"It's over for you, Sonic." At this, he threw a heavy kick up at him, lifting him up in the air upon contact and jabbing a swift elbow to his side, knocking him very far over the arena. The thousands upon thousands of clones could have intervened any time, but they just stood there, watching the original's progress. As Sonic slid over, Itachi dashed toward him, fast as Sonic himself, and performed yet another kick to his person. Sonic could have fought back, but he was just too exhausted, and Itachi, still alive and well, you could almost say he was faster. He grabbed him by the wrist, spun him around, and tossed him up into the air. He brought his fingers tohis mouth and shot a "**Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu**!" at him while he was still barely able to see. Several of them burned Sonic by his sides, he could only cry out in agony as his arms and legs were unable for use anymore.

As he slammed hard on the ground, Itachi decided not to play with him anymore. He pulled out his sword, drew it out to Sonic and prepared to end the fastest thing alive, once and for all. "Goodbye, Sonic the Hedgehog." was the only thing he said as he slowly brought his sword up. Sonic could only hope he had a way to counteract a Time/Space Jutsu and closed his eyes. But opened them as he realized the one thing he could do. He reached out for a Chaos Emerald, but was distilled that he didn't have one...well...not in Itachi's world anyway...He took in a deep breath, which led Itachi to cock his eyebrow in reply.

"**Chaos Control**!"

At this, a massive wave spread out through the large red field, and more continued after it. It wasn't long before Itachi screamed out and held his head in impeccable pain, and his army followed after. The pain was so incredible, that he needed both hands to comfort his head. Before long,all the clones began to dissipate into smoke, and as Itachi continued to cry out...

Sonic finally woke up!

The two of them were down on their knees. Sonic could easily recover from his injuries, as they happened in his head, and he was able to resolve it before they got serious. However, he couldn't say the same for Itachi. He was down on his knees, and his headache was so splitting, even the real world could see what has become of the great Uchiha Massacre Convict. He stared down at the ground, breathing and grunting. Kisame, still standing aside him, was flabbergasted at this unbelievable sight.

"It couldn't be...?" He tried to convince himself. "...Did...did he..._beat_ **Tsukuyomi**?"

Sonic, who had just made a fast recovery from it all looked out to him and said "You should probably know: The Fastest Ting Alive also has the Fastest Wit Alive to compliment that. He pulled out the Green Chaos Emerald he had in the real world and brought a victory wink to the Shark-Man.

"You little rat!" Kisame angered as he heaved his massive sword behind himself. "I'm going to cut you up so bad that-"

"**Dynamic...**" shouted a voice from behind Kisame, who could only turn his head halfway before "**Entry**!" Guy gave him a massive boot to the face, and used it as a footstool to leap over to Sonic's side, where Kakashi was. Kisame still angered at this and glared at the three mangy interlopers who interfered with his plans. He pulled his sword back and it started to unravel.

"That's it!" He screamed. "I'm going to kill all of-"

"That's enough...Kisame..."

He turned around in shock that his partner could speak, even after the great ordeal he had just faced. He then proceeded to stand up, barely able to do so, still holding his head. He broke the silence again.

"Your skills continue to impress me, Sonic." He said. "Let's hope it can protect Naruto..." Sonic glared at that insidious comment.

"We're leaving, Kisame." Then, Itachi disappeared into a cloud of smoke, and Kisame, still angry, said "That's two counts I owe you now..." before following after his partner in crime.

"Well, that was an unpleasant turn of events." Guy commented. "But at least everything is all right."

"Are you all right, Sonic?" Kakashi asked. Sonic looked up and nodded. "That guy is one bad egg." Sonic complied. "I can see why Sasuke has it in for him..." Kakashi and Guy slightly widened their eyes in reply to this. "Well," Kakashi began, "I think it's safe to allow Naruto to go on missions once again. He doesn't like to be boxed up like a cockroach."

XXXXX

A small chuckle passed through Sasuke's lips as he had finished merciless training with Orochimaru, who took the liberty of noticing this.

"What's so funny?" He snidely asked.

"I can feel it in my mind..." His pupil replied. "Somewhere out there, I can just tell that Itachi is suffering right now..."

"I'm glad you feel that way." He wickedly complimented. "Come. It's time to begin your next task."

Upon that, he brought out two Kunai knives with odd seals tethered to them and walked over to two figures who stood in a dark room. One was noticeably taller than the other and they were both limp and completely motionless. He stabbed the knives into the back of their necks and released his grip on them. They slowly began to meld into the figures until the seal was no longer noticeable. They both opened their eyes, glowing bloodshot red and the smaller one placed a mask on his face.

XXXXX

Deep in darkness somewhere, unknown where, two dark figures plotted their ultimate plan of world conquest. A familiar star-headed robot typed commands into a computer, while "Initiate Recovery Mode" appeared on its terminal.

"It could take a while," Sigma said, "but when this thing downloads, you'll be good as new, and world domination can begin for you…" he bowed in front of a containment pod with a familiar Sonic-like robot inside, and then said, "…Master."

"How long…" he asked, "…will it take?"

"Two to three months…" Sigma said, seeming unsure, "I don't know. My memory hasn't been perfect lately…" He turned around and clenched his fist in frustration. "That bitch of a Hokage punched a hole through my brain!"

He sighed and sat back down. "But that's what I get for serving that incompetent fool, Eggman." He closed his eyes and began to meditate. "His overconfidence always rubbed off on me, but you, Master Metal Sonic, are a perfectionist."

Metal opened his eyes and looked back to the screen, which downloaded one percent, which it had taken twenty-four hours to do, since Sigma input the command yesterday, and monitored its progress to its recent update.

"One hundred days we shall wait, Master." Sigma remarked. "Should be about the time all the Chaos Emeralds are put in place. And when that wait is complete, you shall rule all dimensions alike."

Metal Sonic closed his eyes and chuckled. The two of them went into standby mode and began to wait.


	16. Even More Lazy Days

Chapter 16: Even more Lazy Days

Since the greater conflicts have been overcome for the time being, Naruto, Sonic and the rest of the Hidden Leaf decided to take a day off. Some went on simple missions to improve their skill so pass the time. Sonic took the liberty to take it in stride. Even if it meant not simply relaxing, but running, which was okay with him. Naruto, Neji and Tenten returned from solving a recent conflict regarding the new Feudal Lord, who was benevolent, generous, and an eye-popping cute girl to boot.

Naruto and Sonic headed over to the Ichiraku Ramen Bar to discuss some friendly matters and distinguish their current situation, as well as what happened to them the other day.

"I heard you were attacked by Itachi." Naruto said. Sonic nodded in realization of this predicament. "Good thing you were safe in your apartment at the time." Sonic assured.

"Do you know them?" Sonic skeptically asked.

"They tried to attack me once before." Naruto shuddered. "They said they wanted the Nine-Tailed Fox within me for some reason." Naruto clutched his stomach and grew very upset. "I hate having this thing inside me. It's the only thing people saw me as long ago, and there are still people who see me that way…" He looked up to the sky. "Gaara has always been seen like that…I don't care where he's from. He's the only one who compares to me."

"Well, Shadow's gotten to know him." Sonic remarked. "People saw him the exact same way, but he's managing to work past that." He then slurped his broth before saying, "Gaara's in good hands, so don't worry about it." Naruto smiled, but still felt unsure. "It's Eggman that's bothering you, isn't it?" Sonic asked, causing him to become a little angry.

"Unfortunately," he said again, "I still haven't figured out what's so important about that fox that'll stand up to Metal Sonic." He stood on top of his stool. "But that's another mystery I'm gonna solve eventually."

Naruto's confidence quickly rose back. "I'm gonna make sure that Eggman guy _and_ Metal Sonic get the punch in the face they deserve! Believe it!" He then began shooting his fists at nothing.

Sonic chuckled.

XXXXX

In Tsunade's office, she, Shizune and Kakashi continued to discuss more important matters regarding Eggman, Metal Sonic and the remaining Chaos Emeralds.

"Things seem to be looking a little bleak right now." Tsunade said. "Three Chaos Emeralds still at large and not a thing we know about them."

"We should just let them come to us naturally." Shizune remarked, filing notes as she spoke. "I'm sure a report will come in, even if it is random."

"Jiraiya went to investigate these matters." Kakashi noted. "He'll tell us if he learns anything."

"Still…" Tsunade said, petting Tonton, the piglet in her lap. "It's important that these matters be taken seriously until we know just how serious they need to be."

Shizune walked back over to Tsunade and handed the reports. They weren't exactly reports, more or less, they were bills to pay. A huge hassle in Tsunade's job was paying debts to cover missions, repairs and other things like that.

She sighed before saying in a very irritated tone of voice, "This job just doesn't get _any_ easier..."

"What happened from the earnings you got from Eggman?" Shizune curiously wondered.

"That fatass was holding out on me..." She groaned. "I get enough to for the repair cost for the houses and shops, but not anything for these stupid tabs..." As she looked through a receipt that rolled as if like a toilet paper roll, she noticed one additional tab: "Make-Out Paradise Collection: Volumes 1 through 5?!"

"Uh, I gotta go." Kakashi stammered.

XXXXX

Back in the village, several of the villagers, Leaf and Mobius alike, took the opportunity to spend even more lazy days. Big decided to rent his own apartment, since acting as a house guest would probably cause problems among the villagers. Shikamaru visited him very frequently as well as took him down to the pond to fish or out to the field to relax. They were still on good terms because of their laid-back nature.

Amy, Ino and Sakura were using their time off to take in the view and shop around town. They had their sights on things that looked very pricey as well as gorgeous and even competed on trivial things, such as who would buy the most or who would buy the best.

Kiba and Akamaru decided to train for a while with Choji, Neji, Lee and Knuckles in a good sparring pit with Hinata, Shino and Tenten watching while Cream, Cheese, Emerl and Team Konohamaru played together near the pond.

Silver and Blaze decided to help around at the Academy and assisted Iruka in many ways possible. They carried books around for him and Tsunade as well as gave demonstrations to students or fought them for practice battles or lessons.

The Chaotix team decided to partake in missions for a little pocket cash. Other ninjas took place in them as well as Sonic's friends. Vector, being the big softie that he is, even took part in simple missions like retrieving stolen candy or finding a lost cat.

Tails and Chris had previously announced that they constructed a Chaos Control teleporter similar to Dr. Eggman's. This one, however, requires all seven of the Chaos Emeralds and teleports the Seven Emeralds as well. The downside, however, was that because of this, it would only be a one-way trip, and sooner or later, they would have to say good-bye to all their friends.

XXXXX

Tsunade was very, very stressed. She had to pay several debts, and the reward money from missions just wasn't enough. Shizune tried to reassure that good will come out of this job, but that angered her even more. Shizune decided to leave her in peace.

Tsunade let out a big, long sigh before saying, "There has to be an easier way to pay all these bills." She pulled out a bottle of Sake and took a sip upon saying, "I should never have left Tanzaku Town."

Then, she heard voices on the beyond the door to her office, and placed her ear to it to find out what it was.

"Y'know what?" Amy asked Sakura and Ino. "We've been a little short on pocket change lately."

"Probably because we've been shopping so much," Sakura replied, "that we brought ourselves flat broke."

"Maybe we should've bought that facial cream for Sakura." Ino smirked. "With her huge forehead, she'd need a lot of it."

Sakura smiled in anger before saying, "Well I bought some food for Tonton. Maybe she's willing to share some with you, Ino."

They both glared at each other, while Amy ignored, saying, "If only there was a Casino nearby. Maybe we could convince Sonic to win some cash for us. He is a pretty experienced gambler."

Tsunade, who had heard this, grinned, while thinking of a way to use it to her advantage.

XXXXX

Sonic decided to take a walk with Tails and Knuckles, feeling that their old times were running dry and spend time together to avoid that.

"Y'know?" Tails asked, "This village is pretty peaceful."

"Yeah." Knuckles continued. "The food's great, everyone's kind, and best of all, people are willing to fight every now and then."

"That is true." Sonic chuckled. "It'll be kinda sad to leave this place."

This caused the three of them to frown in disappointment.

Before they could reminisce further, one of the local Chunin came to them and gave them a report.

"The Hokage wants to see you in her office." He said before leaping away.

Sonic read the pass, and looked at his two partners in curiosity.

XXXXX

"You want me to do _what_?" Sonic asked.

"Go to a village called Tanzaku town and partake in its Casino activity." Tsunade replied with anticipation in her voice. "I've heard that you're an interesting gambler."

"I'm sure you've also heard," Sonic replied, "That I hate gambling."

"Eggman forced us into a pinball machine in the past." Tails said.

"I get dizzy just thinking about those flippers...and bumpers…and slot wheels…" Knuckles stumbled slightly upon saying this.

"Well this place is different from Eggman's machines." She reassured. "Just slot machines, dice and card games, no pinball whatsoever."

"Why should we do this?" Tails asked nonchalantly.

"It's for the sake of the village." She said as she crammed more gambling debts into her desk, and instead pulled out mission bills. "Trust me." She said with a smile.

They raised their eyebrows to her, but gave in and decided to go with it. She handed them a map and they took off without a second thought.

XXXXX

"It would've been easier if she'd sent us on some odd trip to the bank." Knuckles said, looking at the neon lit entry sign to the casino. Sonic shuddered and Tails gulped. "Well, it's for the sake of the village, right?" Tails asked. "In a pig's eye." Sonic scoffed. Unbeknownst to them, Tsunade's pet pig, Tonton sneezed while sleeping in her master's lap. Also unknown to them, a heinous plot was about to ensue.

As they entered, they took in the sights of the slot machines, card tables and roulette wheels spread across the area. They couldn't help but notice several people were staring at the three guests at the entryway.

"Y'all got a problem?!" Knuckles shouted, raising his fists and cracking his knuckles. Just then, three brutish-looking men walked up to them and stared right at them. Sonic and Knuckles glared while Tails shuddered. "You've got some nerve hopin' t'pick a fight in our place." The center thug said.

"We're here on important business, so you just back off!" Knuckles shouted. "That old bag can't make us stay here forever."

"Well," the right thug said, "I suppose if you play a few rounds with us, we can make you a deal."

"What'dya have in mind?" Sonic asked.

"If you win," the left one said, "You can have your winnings, plus the rest of ours." They looked at each other very evilly, "But if we win…"

"Then we get that," the center, "_And_ those costumes you mugs're wearin'." Tails gulped. "I was hopin' to get my own fur rug, even if it's only some stupid mask and jumpsuit." They laughed, forcing the rest to laugh in unison.

Tails was shivering. "Whadda we do, Sonic?" He stammered. "We can't let these guys win." Sonic eyed him skeptically. "Who says we're gonna accept?"

"We accept!" Sonic and Tails glared at Knuckles, who replied with, "We can take these guys no problem. The Sonic Heroes never back down from a fight, right?"

"Yea…A fight of physical skill!" Sonic barked.

"Then it's settled!" The thugs stated. "Our first shot is the roulette wheel."

Sonic and Tails walked over to the table and Knuckles followed. Meanwhile, over at the buffet table, two teenage girls were helping two large men with silly grins on their faces to everything that was there. The two girls looked over at the trio and smiled.

"Hey, brother." The taller man said. "Yes, brother?" The shorter replied.

"These cute little girls have been very nice to us. They gave us all this good food and even let us take place in these Casino games."

"Yeah! They brought us here after we were released from prison."

"But now they want us to fight those three guys over there over fried eggs."

"Eggs are delicious, but are they really worth fighting over?"

"Why do you think the slammer took us in the first place?"

"Oh, right." They turned to the girls. "When should we get those guys?"

"Soon enough." The two said. Then they giggled.

XXXXX

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles proceeded to engage the three Casino goers in games of chance. It starts with a roulette wheel, followed by a card game, then shuffleboard. For an easier change of pace, they went one on one on each game starting from weakest to strongest. Plus, they would double the winnings with each game.

"All right, Scrawny." The tallest and thinnest of the thugs said, "You against me."

"Scrawny?!" Tails blinked. "I can take ya! One on One! No holds barred! Right here, right now! I'll show you who's scrawny! Have you even looked in a mirror lately?!" Sonic tapped his shoulder.

"Don't get overexcited. It's only the first round."

Tails chuckled nervously and went to the table.

"I'll go first, Pipsqueak." He said, making Tails even angrier. He called his bet on 24-Black, and the dealer dropped the ball into the spinning wheel. As the wheel spun, the ball bounced across it. They were staring at it with great anticipation until the wheel and ball came to a stop. The ball landed on 16-Red. The thug moaned in anger.

"My turn." Tails said. He called his bet at 7-Red and the dealer put the ball into the spinning wheel. The wheel spun and the ball bounced, and it began to slow down. When it came to a stop, it landed right on Tails' call.

"Yea!" he shouted. "Take that, you guys!"

"Beginner's luck." The lead thug said. "How do you guys handle at Blackjack?"

"I guess that would be me." Sonic said. "Knuckles is the strongest of us, after all."

"It looks like you're the leader, as well." said the lead thug. "How's about you and I take to the stand?"

"Fine by me." Sonic said, shining a grin. "I never back down from a challenge."

They stepped over to the card table and the dealer gave them two cards each. Sonic looked at his, and he read 2 and 5. The thug read 3 and 10.

"Right over the ballpark, huh-huh." He said.

"Don't get too cocky." Sonic replied. "The winner doesn't exceed Twenty-One."

"Good point, blu-ray." He said. "Let's tussle."

They were handed another card each. Sonic held an 8, while the guy held a 5. Sonic looked even more bored while the thug was sweating profusely. They were handed another card. The thug had a 7. Sonic had a 6.

"All right, Sonic! You won!"

"Let's just take the money and go." Sonic said, even less interested than before. "We gotta pay up that old hag and get back to normal life."

"We ain't doin' no Two-outta-Three." The lead said. "Whoever wins this wins it all!"

"I'm up, now." Knuckles said, glaring at the large, muscular member of the group. They stood down a Shuffleboard aisle. They were handed four pucks each, one colored red and the other colored black. "I hope you're ready to lose!"

"What's taking him so long?!" The two girls watching thought, strangely, in unison. "We can't keep these two bloated whales occupied forever." They glanced over to the two large men, still dining on the buffet table with a chef weeping to its side.

They took turns and went for one round. Knuckles went first and landed on an 8. The thug then landed on a 7. Then Knuckles landed on 7, while the thug landed on 8. Utterly senseless and incredibly ironic, I know. But then, they took matters into their strength. Knuckles knocked the thug off his eight and landed on the 10. The thug knocked his 7 over to 10-off and landed on that same 7. Knuckles knocked off his 7 onto the 10-off and his own, off it. The thug then took intense aim and prepared to release, before…

"Greetings, Casino goers!" shouted an all-too-familiar voice, forcing them all to look over and the thug to take his shot blindly.

"Finally!!" The two girls thought.

Dr. Eggman stood over at the door with Decoe and Bocoe at his sides with Bokkun floating overhead. The girls at the buffet leaped over in great height and grace, revealing themselves to be Eta and Theta.

"What's Dr. Eggman doing here?!" Tails shouted.

"I'm glad you asked, my foxy friend." He replied. "Due to certain circumstances, I've run a little short on money." He snapped his fingers and held up a giant neon sign over his head that said "Robo-Casinopolis" over his head. "I've come to claim this Casino for myself and enjoy all of its Money as my own!"

"You're going to have to see to it in someone else's Casino, my good sir." exclaimed the proprietor of the building as he snapped his fingers, calling two bouncers to throw them out.

"I hope our new 'associates' are ready, girls." Eggman grinned.

The two nodded and placed their fingers in their mouths, releasing a loud whistle. The two guys at the table heard this and looked rather confused. "Did you hear that, Brother?" the taller one said. "I think it was a bird."

"Do they even serve chicken here?"

"You idiot. Chickens don't go 'tweet'."

"Get over here, you dumbasses!" Eta and Theta shouted.

"Oh." Was all they replied as they jumped over to the front of Eggman's group and switched their happy smiles to frowns of anger.

"Holy Crap!" shouted the casino dealer. "It's Fujin and Raijin! The Legendary Idiot Brothers! Everybody RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!"

Everyone in the Casino proceeded to do exactly that, with the sole exception of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. They stood there glaring at Eggman and stood in position for battle. Eggman laughed at this, despite his many hardships with the three before.

"It looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way then." Eggman declared as he pulled a remote control from his person and pressed its single button. There was a huge rumbling on the ground. Eggman, Decoe, Bocoe, Bokkun, Eta and Theta faded behind Fujin and Raijin, revealing them only to be holograms. Behind Sonic's crew, they looked to see a giant wall erupting from the floor. There was a cloud of dust coming as well, so it was hard to tell. The wall towered up high above the sky, reaching the height of the castle that centered the town, which was repaired after much time.

When the fog cleared, the tower revealed itself to be one of Sonic's greatest inanimate enemies.

"This," Sonic grunted, "is why I've always hated Casinos my entire life."

The giant monolith appeared to be a giant pinball table, with bumpers, flippers and slot wheels mounted on it. At the top was Eggman's group, who sat in a control box at the very top of the tower.

"I hate pinball." Sonic grunted again.


	17. Casino Night All Over Again

Chapter 17: Casino Night All Over Again

Back at the village, Tsunade was filing reports (as usual) and wearing a silly grin on her face. She was awaiting her oodles of cash to return to the village along with the kind blue hedgehog who supplied it for her. Little did she realize she was about to get an unexpected visit from an unexpected visitor.

"Come in, Naruto." She said, still filing reports. Okay, I exaggerated. She's a fully-aware Sannin who has received all-too-many visits from this boy, I was just hoping, you'd catch on quickly.

"Would you happen to know where Sonic is, Ma'am?" he asked. "I was about to get some serious training underway, and I wanted to do it with him."

"I sent him on an errand for me." She said. "I was a little short on money, so I sent him to the bank to help me cover the village bills."

"I see." Naruto replied, looking over at the obvious stack of Gambling debts. "What's the name of the bank?"

"Oh." She replied, sounding hesitant. "Konoha National."

"We don't have a bank in our village." Naruto replied, fully aware she was hiding something. "Well, what about those bills over there? They seem very familiar."

"We needed to repair the village!" She stammered. "Don't be so picky! It's not like I sent him to that rag-tag Casino or anything…"

"I knew it!" Naruto shouted. "I should've known you'd try to gamble your way out of trouble! This is what I tried to avoid when you took on this job!" Tsunade began to anger at this. "A lousy, whiny old bag who tries to hide everything about her! Well, I know about it all! You've still got those gambling debts and you're trying to push it off on other people!" Tsunade was looking very pissed now. "You're a pretty lousy Hokage!"

"I'm doing a better job than you possibly could!" She shouted as she stood up from her chair. "The way you are now, nobody would uphold your authority. I'm a mighty Sannin who's willing to bet her life for the sake of her home and everyone in the village, who are equally willing to do the same!" Naruto was mad, but slowly shifted to understanding. "I admit you have potential, but if you disrespect me, then you're disrespecting the ones before me."

"We should at least head out there and help them!" Naruto pleaded. "They could be in trouble!"

"It's a Casino, dummy!" Tsunade remarked as she sat back in her chair. "The worst trouble he could get into is a bar fight."

Naruto bit his thumb and started forming hand signs. "Well, I'm heading over to take a look." He threw his palm on the ground and performed his "**Summoning Jutsu**!"

From the smoke came someone just right for the mission.

"Oh hey, Naruto!" Gamakichi said, eccentrically. "Good to see you again!"

"Gamakichi," Naruto said. "I was wondering if you could do something for me."

"Well, you'd better have some snacks for me." He said as he crossed his arms. "I ain't doin' a mission to fall empty-handed."

"I can treat you to Ramen later on." He said in a sing-song tone of voice.

He turned to this and smiled. "Well, that's a start, I suppose." He hopped up to him. "So whaddo I gotta do?"

"You've got a good sense of smell, right?"

"I can smell pretty good things." He replied. "But I'm no lapdog if that's what you mean."

"Well, you think you can find Sonic for me?"

"Sonic?!" Gamakichi replied and then jumped as if to stand in a military salute. "Leave it to me! That guy's pretty cool! He reminds me a lot of you!"

Naruto giggled. "Well, I know what place he's gonna be at." He stood at the front door and prepared to leave, but not before turning around and saying, "Uh, Grandma Tsunade? What was the name of that place again?"

"Tasuna Town." She said. "Dumbass." She whispered under her breath.

"All right! Let's go!" He shouted when he ran out the front door, but this time turning around because, "Hey, Gamakichi, you comin'?"

"Whaddo I look like?! A race horse?" He barked nonchalantly. "Carry me on your head, you dumb rug rat!"

Naruto sighed and did just that. Tsunade sighed as well and went back to her paperwork, but to her surprise, found one interesting piece of information.

XXXXX

At the Casino, Fujin and Raijin were standing toe in toe with Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, and Dr. Eggman was atop the Pinball Machine skyrocketing from the ground behind them. Sonic was aware that to get to the leader of this operation, he would have to get to the top, but that would mean using the Pinball Machine, one of the contraptions he hated the most since his earliest days.

"Come and get me, Sonic!" Eggman shouted.

"Tails! Knuckles!" Sonic said. "You think you can handle these guys by yourselves?"

"No Problem!" Knuckles said as he was cracking his. "We can take these guys!"

"Yeah!" Tails said as he pulled an odd-looking gadget onto his person. "Just leave it to us!"

"Okay!" Sonic shouted as he headed over to the machine, curled into a ball and jumped into the hole. But there was just one problem. Sonic was going nowhere fast.

"Hey!" He shouted. "Can someone give me a hand here?!"

"Bokkun," the 'good' Doctor said, "Would you be willing to help out our good friend?"

"You got it, Doctor!" He shouted as he headed down to the machine, pressed a button at the hole entry, and out from it came a controller that looked incredibly similar to that of a Sega Genesis, and pulled on it. That in turn, pulled the spring shift on Sonic and he rolled back as well. Bokkun let go, and Sonic began rolling up to the machine.

Back in Knuckles and Tails' position, they were beginning their fight with the Legendary Stupid Brothers. Knuckles was swapping punches and kicks with Fuu while Tails used his gadget to punch back and forth with Rai.

Knuckles punched for a while, until Fuu got wise to it and tried to clap him flat. Knuckles jumped up in a back flip and then punched down on his forehead. That sent him slamming face first to the ground.

Tails was able to lock fists with Rai for a while. However, that while was short. Rai managed to break past Tails machine and punched him in the face, sending him flying. Tails smirked, and his opponent's fat ass exploded. Tails planted a bomb there while he wasn't looking. Not that he could.

Tails and Knuckles quickly regrouped as did the brothers.

"OUCHOUCHOUCHOUCH!" was what Rai kept saying as his butt was burning with a passionate fire. "Brother! It burns! It burns!" Fuu took in his breath and blew a great gust of wind, putting out the fire. "Ahhh…That's better." He said.

"These guys are very unkind to us, brother."

"I agree, brother."

They got really angry and locked their hands as they began to spin. "So we should be unkind to them!"

"**Ninja Art: Fujin Raijin Cyclone Spin**!"

They formed a giant tornado that began to sweep everything up. It would've gotten Tails and Knuckles, too, if it hadn't been for Tails using his gadget to spike into the ground and Knuckles holding on to it.

"Great." Knuckles said. "So these guys are Ninjas too. Is this a world only for Ninjas?!"

"It could be worse." Tails said. "We could've ended up in a world of Pirates who can't swim, or Dragons that grant wishes, or people who fight by summoning monsters with cards, or kids who use spiritual magic, or a guy with tentacle-like nose hair, or…"

"I get it." Knuckles said. "We lucked out."

As their spin finally began to die down, they finally stopped as they looked very dizzy. They succumbed to their own technique and passed out.

"This is not good." Dr. Eggman said back above.

"Leave them to us!" Eta and Theta said in unison as they jumped down and flipped in front of Tails and Knuckles. "You're not going any farther this way!"

Sonic was able to work his way up for the most part. The flippers flipped him up to his heights and the bumpers bumped him around, but to his benefit. But as Sonic was only halfway to the top, he began to topple back down. The flippers stopped working and the bumpers bumped him to the bottom as if intentionally. Sonic fell through the hole and back to the Casino.

"What's going on here?!" Sonic shouted. "I was doing great!"

Before he could speak further, however, the ball return platform he stood on glowed a bright red and Sonic was given an incredibly painful shock as he was engulfed in electricity. When the shock stopped, he stumbled a little and fell to his knees.

"What gives, Eggman?!" He shouted.

"You're gonna have to do better than that if you want to reach the top, Sonic." Dr. Eggman said.

"For you see, every time you fall down to the hole between those flippers," Decoe followed, "You will be given an incredibly painful shock!"

"That Life Marker you see above the ball entry marks how many lives you have." Bocoe explained. The marker said Four. "If you fall to the bottom, it will go down and the painful shock will get worse. If it reaches Zero, well, you'd better hope it doesn't."

"But luckily," Eggman continued, "Bokkun will use his controller to take good care of you!" Bokkun waved as he was addressed. "I wouldn't try attacking him. He holds up a protective barrier if he sees you coming, and even if you could dispose of him, your two friends are a little too preoccupied to help. So you're just going to have to trust our little friend here." He finished his explanation with a sinister snicker. "And if you refuse, then this entire town is history!"

"Great." Sonic thought. "I'm going on a long ride on a long river, but I haven't got an oar for my boat. Eggman's trying to get us all killed!"

He had no other choice but to continue on. Better risk his own life that of hundreds of others. He went into the ball and started his cycle over again.

Knuckles and Tails fought with Eta and Theta, but had less luck than before. Knuckles could keep up with Eta, but after a long while of fighting her, she caught on to his techniques, while she constantly remained unpredictable. Knuckles took in a few kicks and punches for a while, until she finally caught him off guard and knocked him down.

Tails could hold his own as he fought with simple punches, kicks and twirls of his tails, but Theta was just too quick. He decided to throw a Dummy Ring Bomb at her, but she avoided its explosion and that of the scattering rings. She laid one final kick to his chest and he was sent back.

Sonic was having it the worst of all. Every time he got halfway to the top, Bokkun just stopped at that same and Sonic toppled to the bottom. Even worse, his Life Marker was now one and Sonic was incredibly exhausted as much as he was burned from the electrical pad. He tried jumping off before it could shock him, but the pad was as if Magnetic as it glowed red. He had to go one last time.

"Goodbye, Sonic!" Bokkun said and then started to laugh maniacally. As Sonic was sent upwards, his laugh slowly turned into a hysterical one. He was laughing as hard as stone and couldn't stop. He couldn't control himself and was caught off guard when all of a sudden…

"BAM!"

He was kicked directly in the side of his face as Naruto spun to do just that. Bokkun was knocked to the side and Naruto quickly took the controls.

"Don't worry, Sonic!" he shouted, "I'm here to help!"

Gamakichi, who was still on his head, looked over to Bokkun. "Hey, you," he said, "Crazy kid, yeah, how do you work this thing here?"

Bokkun deliriously answered the question. "The A and B Buttons work the flippers and the C button flashes the Bumpers. The Control Pad controls the Platform pad and any of the three buttons jump him up."

"Thanks, man!" Gamakichi said.

"One plus One equals Four." He said as he finally passed out.

Sonic had gotten halfway up but had fallen completely exhausted. So, knowing what would happen, he just collapsed in his fetal position and waited for the inevitable to come, when suddenly, he felt a flipper from his level give him a quick boost. He had fallen into a Slot Machine on the Table, and as the Machine hit 3 Bars, he felt his strength beginning to revitalize. He woke up and saw an all-too-familiar face on a holographic screen.

"Don't worry, Sonic!" Naruto shouted, "I'm here to help!"

"Not that insolent Brat again!" Eggman cursed.

"All Right!" Knuckles cheered, "Naruto's here! Sonic'll pull through!"

"Great!" Tails agreed. "Can't say the same for ourselves, though…"

On that note, Eta and Theta were preparing to give a great beatdown as two very furious Legendary Stupid Brothers had finally awakened from their suspended consciousness. They were cracking their knuckles, and preparing to knock some sense into the ones they believed caused it, until…

"Don't you two know when to stay in your place?"

This voice had greatly intimidated the two, as they turned around to see the scary Sannin that had invoked that statement.

"Sister Tsunade!" the brothers whimpered.

"I just got word," Tsunade scolded, "that you two had broken out of jail again, Fujin, Raijin!"

"Broken out?!" Fujin stammered. "B-b-but we couldn't have…"

"Y-y-yes, Sister!" Raijin pleaded. "We would never break out again…"

"That's not what I heard." She continued, as she walked down to them. "You are apparently escaped fugitives, and I must give you your punishment."

On that note, she gave them a direct flick on the forehead, and, thanks to her unimaginable strength, sent them flying to the spots behind them. A good twenty feet away, aside Tails and Knuckles, who were almost at their mercy.

"I assume you two had something to do with that?" Tsunade interrogated Eta and Theta. They, however, were completely unmoved.

"We pretended to give them parole." Eta scoffed. "So what?"

"Dr. Eggman was nice enough to give us ninja disguises." Theta continued. "It was enough to get by for the most part."

"But you won't be able to take us!" They shouted in unison as they leapt up and positioned to punch her. Tsunade chuckled.

"I don't need to." They blinked before getting hit in their faces. One by a fist, and the other by a staff. They were knocked to their sides, when the two powerhouses stood by Tsunade, smiling victoriously.

"Sakura! Tenten!" Tails shouted.

"Great." Eta said. "Girls as strong as us."

"Easy for you to say." Theta spat. "I just got beat with a stick!"

"Have some fun, girls." Tsunade said. "I'll see to them."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" They nodded as they leapt over to their opponents. Tsunade walked over to Tails and Knuckles, still realizing that the brothers were aside them. They were cowering in fear of this deadly reckoned force.

"You two go turn yourselves in." She said softly. "I'll explain the misunderstanding back in the village." They stood strong and said, "Yes, Sister Tsunade!" She smiled as she said, "And if you're lucky, you'll get there before they're done with lunch. They're making Dango!" They cheered at this and ran outside. Tails and Knuckles raised an eyebrow to this and she smiled, saying, "No strength can match mine! Believe it!"

Eta was very upset about Sakura punching her in her pretty face, and had tried to make her pay the price. She tried to kick and punch her several times, but Sakura was just too nimble. Plus, Eta was exhausted, which didn't help her cause.

"That punch actually hurt!" She shouted. "Is that old dinosaur actually teaching you things?!"

"Just enough to get by!" Sakura scoffed. "It looks like you have a lot to learn!" She then prepared to punch.

Theta was dodging Tenten's staff by jumping and ducking. Tenten still tried to hit her, but acknowledged her skill by smiling while she dodged.

"What are you smiling about?!" Theta barked. "I don't expect to be whipped by that stick again!"

"Take a closer look at what you call a stick!" Tenten smirked as she twirled it above her head, and it bent in to ends. It was jointed at those points, revealing it to be a Nunchaku. Theta blinked and Tenten attacked again.

Back in Sonic's position, Naruto had gotten used to the Pinball controls. And with good pace, because Sonic was almost to the top! Naruto managed to drown out Gamakichi's heckling, which there was plenty of, with a sock stuffed in his mouth. All Naruto needed to do was flip three switches from red to green, and that would do it!

"C'mon, baby!" Naruto grunted, "Just a little more!"

Sonic was also cooperating with Naruto, as he moved himself along to the red switches, which he had gotten two of. He just needed to activate the last one by throwing himself up onto a trail platform and hitting the switch on the hole back to the main table. Naruto hit the flipper and Sonic was rolling up that very platform. With due speed, he hit the switch. And not only did he fall through that hole, he was sucked into a hole that would carry him to the top, where Eggman was waiting!

"All right!" Naruto cheered as he jumped onto the wall, and started running up.

Sonic had popped out of a manhole in front of Eggman and jumped to the side as Naruto just as quickly reached the top and stood on the other side.

Eggman was completely petrified, as were Decoe and Bocoe. He was smiling weakly as he tried to think of an excuse to get him out of this mess.

"You're finished, Eggman!" Sonic said.

"Believe it!" Naruto agreed.

There was much punching heard in the skies of this town as people stood in sight of the towering pinball table.

XXXXX

"19,997, 19,998, 19,999," Eggman had counted the repair fee to the casino as he was being arrested, for disturbing the peace, destruction of town area and private property and attempted assassination of innocent bystanders, as well as defenders, "20,000. Well, that's the last of them." Eggman said in a very upset tone of voice. Following behind were of course, his associates in the matter, Decoe, Bocoe, Eta, Theta and Bokkun, who was still delirious.

"I can't believe money actually came out of that big skyscraper!" Naruto laughed. "There's more than enough to cover all those village debts!"

"I'm glad you see the benefit of this all." Tsunade agreed as she tried effortlessly to stuff the last of the earnings into her suitcase. She managed to close it, and sighed, before saying, "I think I'm gonna need a bigger suitcase."

"Well, now Eggman's been contained." Sonic sighed. "That makes our remainder of the search that much easier."

"For the last of the Emeralds, right?" Sakura confirmed. "We're gonna need it if you guys want to go home."

"At the very least," Tenten agreed, "We should take the time we have here to relax."

"I'd rather we do that back in the Village." Knuckles moaned.

"Me too." Tails followed. "Let's call it a day."

"I'd say that was pretty fun, wouldn't you?" Naruto asked.

"You bet I would!" Sonic agreed. "What a wild ride! All that just to pay off some old gas bag!"

"Yea!" Naruto laughed. "The boys back home'll love this!"

They stopped laughing when they felt each something large and globular as they hunched back up. They blinked and looked behind themselves to see a very angry Tsunade cracking her knuckles, grinning as if looking forward to this moment.

"What was that about paying off an old gas bag now?" She scorned. "Who would hear of this, now?"

They both chuckled nervously as they looked at each other, nodded and held hands as they started to run.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU TWO!!!" Tsunade shouted as their spectators followed behind and laughed.


	18. All in Good Time

First thing's first. Sorry about the Long Wait. I've been very busy helping my mom move into her new Townhouse. But I hope the new surprises in this chapter can make up for it! Without Further ado, Enjoy Everybody!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 18: All in Good Time

It was late at night in the Top Security Prison of Konoha. Several ninjas were on patrol, those who walked around the top of the outer wall, looking out for those who might try anything funny, and those who sat atop the watch towers, piloting the searchlights. Some of them took breaks or naps as they switched shifts. It was late at night, after all. One particular prisoner they recently admitted was kept close watch over, but those who kept that watch were too tired to continue. He scoffed their laziness and continued his business.

Little did he realize that he was about to be paid an unexpected visit from a certain moody rival of his. In fact, this visitor _warped_ into his cell as soon as he suspected something was going to happen.

"Visiting hours are over, you know." Eggman said as he laid back onto his cot, which was very uncomfortable, much to his chagrin. He turned around to address his visitor. "What do you want?"

"I don't have all the answers." Shadow said with much impatience. "But I know you have some."

"Spread out the details." The doctor replied.

"I came here following the signal of a Chaos Emerald." He started. "The very same that Sasuke Uchiha had. I know it was you who gave it to him, and I also know he gave it back."

"Well, I don't expect to give it to you that easily." Eggman scoffed. "If you want it, you'll have to take it from me later on."

"Fair enough." He replied. "But there is one thing I still need to figure out."

Eggman raised his eyebrow.

"I've seen the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox. It's very difficult to control, and extracting it could be drastic. How do you think Naruto Uzumaki will be able to help you take down Metal Sonic?"

"Why don't you ask the one who sealed it in him in the first place?"

"Elaborate."

"The Leaf Village holds many secrets." Eggman explained. "I'm sure someone will be able to tell you, if you ask them."

"I'm on important G.U.N business." Shadow confirmed. "I'll take your word for it."

"Tell Tsunade I said 'hi.'" Eggman hinted. Shadow nodded before raising his Emerald into the air and inducing his "**Chaos Control**!" to make his exit.

"Now, for some shut-eye." Eggman sighed as he placed his Emerald on the mini-table aside him. He closed his eyes and then-"

"Wait a minute." He startled as he realized he placed a Post-it note on his side instead of his Purple Emerald. It said "_P.S: You __know__ I'm not the Patient Type._"

Eggman growled and cursed before he fell asleep.

XXXXX

"Chao, Chao, Chao, Chao!" Cream cried (literally) as he held a scrape on his left arm. He and Cream were at Konoha Hospital, seeing to Kiba's older sister, Hana, who was a veterinarian. Cream tried to calm him down, and Kiba, Akamaru and Sakura were present as well.

"It's okay." Hana gently said as she wrapped bandage tape on his hand. Cream calmed down as Hana finished up. "There. All better."

"Thank you so much, Hana!" Cream happily said.

"Chao, Chao, Chao!"

"Seeing the happy faces of the bond between two friends is what makes this job worthwhile."

Kiba smiled at the two as he was reminded of Akamaru and himself. Sakura smiled as she looked back to her patient, who was on the table right next to Cheese's.

"And, Lee." She said as she started healing his stomach. "No more eating five courses of Ramen before Training."

"Thank you, Sakura." He replied. "I will take note of this as I do 100 laps as punishment."

Sakura chuckled nervously as she said, "It's okay. You shouldn't overwork yourself. You only recently admitted out of your last checkup."

"But I must continue my dream!" He contrasted. "Guy-Sensei would be proud!"

"Guy-Sensei wants the best in you." She replied. "He'd be miserable if you hurt yourself again."

Lee sulked. "I should've thought about that…200 Laps, then!" Sakura sighed.

"By the way." Cream intervened, "I haven't seen Naruto or Mr. Sonic around lately."

"Sonic and Naruto went on a mission with Shino, Neji, Choji, Knuckles and Shinji-Sensei three days ago." Sakura answered. "They should be back later today with their mission report."

"Leave it to Naruto," Kiba jokingly scoffed, "to accompany our people on every mission."

"Arf, Arf, Arf!!"

"Mr. Sonic's with him, though." Cream commended. "With him, I know he'll be all right."

XXXXX

"This is _not_ all right." Naruto said as he, Choji and Sonic were staring down against three rogue ninja who seemed to be simple bush-league bullies, but were really something if they were to harass them for the whole three days. They seemed to be in a cave full of many bats and stalactites.

"Are you gonna give us your money," the center thug said, "and the secrets of the Hidden Leaf Village? Or am I just gonna have to kill them there partners of yours over there?"

The thug on the right drew a sword and pointed it to Neji, Knuckles, Shino and Shinji tied to a stalagmite close by. They were quite annoyed to have been caught so easily.

"Those secrets are precious to our village!" Choji stated. "You can't have them!"

"Youse means t' tell me," the one on the left said, "that your secrets is more important than yer own buddies?"

"Forget about us, Naruto!" Shinji declared. "Just go! Lady Tsunade needs those secrets!"

"Like we're just gonna stand by and run!" Sonic scoffed.

Naruto looked down for a few seconds, earning a shot from Choji and Sonic. He looked up and pulled a scroll from his back pocket. He threw it over to them and they started dancing for joy.

"Didn't you say you were the 'greatest ninjas in all the land' two days ago?" Choji queried.

"Yep!" The lead thug said. "And don't you dopes forget about it! Things always come easy to us, cuz were awesome!"

"You've still got a lot to learn!" Naruto smirked. They blinked at this before Shinji, Knuckles, Neji and Shino all turned into Naruto! They were greatly astonished when they disappeared. They freaked out when the scroll turned into several bugs and several bats above them did the same. To top it off, four stalactites poofed into the guys they thought they tied up.

"What the?! We've been duped!!"

"Der!" Choji exclaimed and threw his arm out in a "**Semi-Expansion Jutsu**!" and punched them back further into the cave.

"Let's wrap this thing up, Gentlemen!" Shinji declared as he pulled the real Mission Report Scroll from his pocket. Sonic nodded and pulled his Chaos Emerald from his person, but not before Naruto snapped his fingers, setting off various explosive tags. The thugs freaked out, but he snapped again, setting off a trap door, which they fell through. Sonic held his Emerald in the air and used "**Chaos Control**!" to exit the cave and back to the village entrance.

"Man!" Naruto groaned. "I'm never gonna get used to that!"

"Well, I'd better take this report to Lady Tsunade." Shinji commented. "Good work, fellow Konoha ninja." He saluted, followed by the rest saluting in unison to him. Then Shinji disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

"Well, we got that errand done." Knuckles stated, "But we're not any closer to the rest of the Chaos Emeralds!"

"Patience is a virtue, Knuckles." Shino softly said. "If you're hasty, you're less likely to find what you seek."

"That doesn't work with ol' Knucklehead, there." Sonic joked, earning a glare. "But he is right. We do need to find the Emeralds soon, or we could all be doomed."

"Metal Sonic, I think you said he was," Neji added, "will cause us all our doom if he returns before we complete our mission, correct?"

"That's exactly right." Sonic said. "We've got no time to waste. The first thing we need is a clue."

Before they could contemplate their next move, they heard and felt a thump at their feet, to find Naruto who collapsed from exhaustion. He had a ridiculous gaping wide open mouth and his eyes were spiraling. Everyone sighed.

XXXXX

"What am I gonna do with you, Naruto?" Sakura sighed as she finished the healing touches n Naruto at his hospital bed. Kiyoshi was at his side and Shizune monitored the progress of the healing Jutsu. Tonton was sitting on Kiyoshi's extended stomach and Sonic and Silver were at his side, sighing and tilting their heads back and forth like a metronome.

"Heheheheh…" Naruto chuckled nervously. "I guess time-space travel's not exactly the best for me." He stretched a little before groaning in response to a loud popping noise in his spine. "How do you guys handle it??" He moaned to Sonic and Silver.

"We're just more adapted to the power of the Chaos Emeralds." Silver said, shrugging his shoulders.

"You shouldn't strain yourself over it." Sonic requested. "Take it easy. We'll handle the Emerald search."

"Okay…" Naruto groaned. "I really need to train more…"

"Well," Sakura said, "I'd better get these reports to Lady Tsunade."

"You'll have to get it to her later." Shizune commented. "She's in a very important meeting."

"With who?" Sakura asked.

"I dunno." She replied. "But he looks an awful lot like Sonic."

Sonic and Silver blinked at this, looked at each other, and rushed out the door without a word. "Wait! Where are you going?' Shizune called, getting no reply. Tonton moaned and Kiyoshi patted her head.

XXXXX

"I didn't ask for an appointment." Tsunade scolded.

"Neither did I." Shadow replied. "I demand to discuss this with you."

"You're one very shrewd character, Shadow." Tsunade stated with ground teeth. "I don't reply to demands."

"You'll reply to this." He stated as he pulled his badge out. "I won't hesitate to see you behind bars back on Mobius if you don't cooperate."

"Shadow, what the hell do you think you're doing?!?"

They both looked back to the door to see Sonic and Silver looking very unhappy with Shadow.

"Didn't Gerald teach you to ask nicely?" Sonic scorned. "I wonder why Rouge and Omega rely on you so much"

"What's going on here?" Silver asked Tsunade.

"You tell me." She shrugged. "He came in out of nowhere and demanded I tell him something."

"Stay out of this, Sonic." Shadow barked. "This is very important G.U.N business. It doesn't concern you."

"Metal Sonic is still at large." Sonic darted back, "It concerns us all!"

"Lady Tsunade."

Sonic and Shadow looked over to Silver, who took this opportunity to ask about the situation. He had already realized what they were bickering about and decided to look into it.

"Can you tell us about the Nine Tailed Fox?"

Sonic quickly rushed to the door and shut it. Shadow walked over to the desk and bated his breath. Sonic walked to the des as well.

"This isn't exactly something we should bring up in conversation." Sonic requested. "It's been kept a secret for many years and we could get in horrible trouble if we, the outsiders learn about it."

"We need its secrets to defeat Metal Sonic." Shadow replied. "You saw what happened when we extracted it from him."

"We need these secrets," Silver summed up, "for the sake of the world!"

The three of them took no notice of Tsunade mumbling, "I can still hear you…"

"If you want to know," Tsunade said, earning their attention, "I will tell you."

"I'm not exactly sure how you can defeat a demon, but by placing it within a host, you can mold its chakra with that of said host. The Fourth Hokage managed to do that by performing a powerful Jutsu that is practically forbidden. Its power is so great that it takes the life of its user away."

"**The Reaper Death Seal**."

"The sealing of a demon is a hard thing to do, but taking it out isn't any easier. But most people didn't care. Many people possessed by legendary demons had them extracted with no regard for those who hold it. But the extraction is very drastic to those containing the demon. To put it simply…they die…"

"Whoa…" Sonic and Silver awed in pity of those people.

"Naruto has become very strong." Tsunade said. "We care too much about our people to just throw them away like that."

"Man…" Silver groaned. "I can't believe people would do something like that…"

"Well, we've got good intentions in our folks." Sonic tried to reassure. "Its people like that who don't give a damn about the lives of others who are the monsters. Not those demons."

"I understand your concern, Sonic," Tsunade calmly explained, "but Demons kill with pleasure as well. That's why they're also considered monsters."

"The Fourth Hokage…" Shadow muttered to himself, as if not listening, "…Reaper Death Seal…extraction…"

"Shadow?" Silver concerned.

"Thank you Lady Tsunade." Shadow bowed. "And I apologize if I was hasty."

Sonic and Silver blinked at this. Shadow the Hedgehog, apologizing to someone? What happened to the real Shadow while this explanation was going?"

"Sonic. Silver. Come with me. Now."

Nope. That's still him. The three of them walked out the door while Sonic and Silver bowed, thanking Lady Tsunade for their time.

XXXXX

Shadow had lead Sonic and Silver to the top of the Hokage monumental mountain. The latter two were curious as to why Shadow led them up here, where everyone can see them.

"You have your Chaos Emeralds with you?" Shadow sternly asked.

They pulled them out in response. "What's this about, Shadow?" Sonic asked.

"Where's Naruto right now?"

"He's in the hospital. He collapsed from exhaustion."

"I don't think it was exhaustion." Shadow replied, raising his subjects eyebrows.

"Gaara was also admitted to the Hospital soon after we returned from facing Metal Sonic. He's been in there for a while. I think it had something to do with Chaos Control..."

"Chaos Control?" Silver queried. "Why would that paralyze Naruto and Gaara?"

"That's what we're going back in time to find out." He held out his Emerald. "Gaara said he had a similar power to Naruto. He must be referring to a demon." Sonic and Silver widened their eyes in realization. "And in the future, when we used Chaos Control on Metal Sonic, he agonized and released a trail of red chakra. You remember seeing red chakra before, right?"

Sonic thought back to the times Naruto had angered at the suffering of his friends and nodded in agreement.

"All the answers are back then." Shadow commented. "And if you want to beat Metal Sonic, we're gonna have to open this rift."

Sonic and Silver thought for a minute and realized that he was right. It was not a happy choice, but they had to take it. But they knew they must not interfere with the affairs of others, for the consequence could be horrible. They held their Emeralds high in the air and began their mission anew.

"**Chaos Control**!!!"

With that, they opened a spiraling rift and the three Hedgehogs jumped through.

XXXXX

When Sonic, Shadow and Silver emerged from the portal, the landed atop the mountain. They took into view of the area they were in, but felt unsure. Something wasn't right.

"Everything's the same…" Silver said. "Did we go anywhere?"

"Let's look." Shadow continued. The three of them leapt atop the Hokage's Capital Building. They looked around to see that everything really did seem the same. Buildings stood strong, people walked along, mothers happily watched their children play in the streets, and the occasional ANBU moved along, patrolling in case of danger.

"We landed in the same spot." Silver contradicted. "Nothing's different."

"Oh, yes it is." Sonic said as he awed the mountain behind the building to see something was indeed different. The monumental mountain had three faces instead of four. The Fourth Hokage had not been added to the mountain yet.

"You were saying?" Shadow scolded. Silver snubbed that comment.

"Okay, guys." Sonic administered. "First order of business: Don't let anyone see you. I remember the attention I got when I first landed on Earth. I don't want that kind of recognition again."

"But how're we going to get information?" Silver pondered.

"Simple." Sonic smirked. "We're in a ninja village. We've got to think like a ninja."

"I get it!" Silver agreed. "We hide and listen to whatever might be important!"

"Glad you didn't need a calculator, Genius." Shadow scoffed, earning another glare. "Let's take a look around." He continued. "Split up and regroup at the mountaintop if you find anything."

They both nodded and the three of them leapt in different directions.

XXXXX

Sonic leapt in the direction of the window by the Hokage's office. He hid in the leaves of the trees to see what was going on. He couldn't hear through the window, so he used an earphone that Tails built in case of Recon Missions. He turned the volume up and pointed the bending antenna in the direction of the window. He took one look into the window to see the figure sitting behind the desk looked very familiar.

There was a knock on the door inside. "Enter." The figure said. And coming inside, was a figure that looked very familiar. He had white hair, wore his headband over his left eye and wore a mask that went down to the neck of his T-Shirt, which was covered by a Chunin Vest. He wore pants underneath it. He appeared to be in his early twenties.

"Ah, Kakashi!" The man at the desk said. "What can I do for you?"

"Good afternoon, Sensei." The young Kakashi replied. "I wanted to thank you for taking on my brother as your assistant."

"No problem." He said as he stood up and walked over to him. He had blonde spiky hair which mostly covered a headband, blue eyes, and he wore a Jonin outfit, similar to the present Kakashi, which was barely covered by a long white cloak with red flames at the bottom. On his left elbow was tied a green seal. "It's the very least I can do…after your partners…"

"It's okay, Sensei." Kakashi reassured. "We did everything we could. I pay my respects to them every day."

"I'm glad you still appreciate their company." The man said happily. "See Master Sarutobi about your brother's admission. He and I will take care of the rest."

His student nodded. Suddenly, there was a loud crying noise. It was indeed very loud, much to Sonic's splitting headache. The man rushed over to the cradle placed next to his desk and pulled out a baby. It wore a baggy suit like his and had blonde hair, just like the man. The man started rocking him back to sleep.

"Oh!" Kakashi said. "I'm glad your baby is very healthy."

"Yes." He replied. "His mother was very happy to see him. She's very glad it was…the last thing she saw…" He lowered his voice at that. Kakashi and Sonic looked aside in pity. "I'm glad that she can watch over him in peace." He said. "And I shall do the best I can to take care of him, just like I will with the rest of the village."

"After all," He proceeded to continue, peaking Sonic's interest, "I am the Fourth Hokage."

Upon hearing this, Sonic gasped lightly in acknowledgment. As he saw the beloved hero of the people turn back to his desk and the young Kakashi make his leave, Sonic did the same, allowing those five words to run through his mind.


	19. To Tame the Wild Beast

Chapter 19: To Tame the Wild Beast

Shadow overlooked an area in the Hidden Leaf that seemed all but forgotten in the present day. He couldn't help but go along in this direction, feeling an evil power coming from it. He kept himself hidden in the trees, hoping not to draw attention to himself. As he overlooked the scene, he couldn't help but notice that the symbol shaped like a Paper Fan seemed very suspicious somehow.

He looked onto the area and saw a young boy, only seven or eight. He had black eyes and hair, just like everyone else in the village. His hair reached down to his neck, but a small ponytail was tied down behind it. He wore a blue long sleeved shirt with the same symbol as before on its back. He wore white pants as well. He seemed very unfamiliar to Shadow, but he kept feeling something evil coming from this single boy.

"I am so proud of you, Itachi." The man in front of him said. He wore the trademark Jonin uniform, but seemed very gruff. "To graduate from the Academy at only age seven."

The boy shrugged and smiled at this. "Aw, it was nothing, father."

"No." He simply replied. "You are a genius, Itachi. I can see it in my heart that you are destined for greater things."

"C'mon…" Itachi chuckled nervously. "You're making me blush…"

"You are a good son, Itachi." A beautiful voice said. Shadow looked to the left of his hiding place and saw a beautiful woman who wore a pink shirt and long blue skirt. She wore an apron over it. She was carrying a baby in her arms. He had a little hair, enough to resemble Itachi, and had the same clothes to boot; only the sleeves and legs were shorter. He was sleeping. "I think you will make a good role model to your new brother."

"Aw," He said. "He's kind of cute!" He walked up to his mother, and gently felt the child's face. "What's his name?"

"Sasuke." When she said this, Shadow blinked. Could that baby hold the evil vibe? He could kill him right now, but what harm could one child possibly do? Plus, his parents would be devastated, and it would interfere with the overall timeline.

"I like him." Itachi said. "Can I hold him?"

"Sure." She said as she handed the baby to her eldest son. He was unsure about the reaction. The baby gently opened his eyes to see his brother. Itachi looked back and saw that he smiled, while continuing to cuddle up in his brother's arms. He fell back to sleep. "He's adorable."

"And he was born on the same day as the Fourth Hokage's son." His father said. Upon that the girl began to sulk. The man held her tight in her arms and she started sniffling. "His mother was your mother's best friend. She couldn't recover from the difficulty of childbirth."

"Oh…" Itachi sulked in compassion for the turn of events. But he looked back to the baby, and smiled. "I will protect you, little brother."

Shadow couldn't be more confused by the vibe he had, but was touched by the words of this family in the Uchiha Clan. He fled in an opposing direction, but couldn't shake the feeling from his mind.

XXXXX

Silver went in a different direction. He heard something important going on in the close by building. He couldn't tell whether it was a classroom or a meeting room. He hid in the tree and used "**Psycho Path**!" to listen in on what was going on. When he looked inside, he saw a meeting going on between the Young Sensei and their superior. He had very wrinkly skin and hair as white as snow. He also wore an equally white robe. He was smoking a pipe.

"I am glad we could get together, my children." He spoke. "As you all know, my time as Hokage is done, and the Fourth has taken his lead. And because of this, you are no longer children." He looked out to his subordinates who were each wearing a Chunin Vest. But these Chunin were much younger than the sensei we know today.

Kakashi listened intently, but had his face rested upon the palm of his hand. Guy looked the same. Same haircut, same suit, same burning rivalry with Kakashi. Kurenai slightly glanced over to Asuma and blushed and twiddled her fingers. Anko listened intently and licked her lips, like her former sensei. Even the parents of our rookies-to-be were here. Shikaku, Choza and Inoichi of the previous Ino-Shika-Cho were sitting side by side like the team they are, Hizashi and Hiashi Hyuga sat next to each other like true brothers, Shibi Aburame listened intently and said nothing, and Tsume Inuzuka sat intently, while cradling her stomach, heavy with someone Silver would know quite well.

"Today, you take your lead as true Konoha ninja." the Third continued, "Many of you must move on to raise your own children, who will live on to continue our legacy, while just as many must take a this opportunity to raise their own students who will do the very same, except sooner. Today, you officially take the title of 'Sensei.'"

"But it is rather unfortunate that my own students could not join us today." He said, closing his eyes. "Orochimaru's Defection, Tsunade's Personal Quest, and Jiraiya's Informational Quest did put a damper on our village, so we must make up for it by giving it all of our heart and strength."

Silver saw the speech this man gave and couldn't help but feel quite moved by it. This man truly brought a sparkle in the lake that was Konoha. He truly was the Third Hokage.

"Well, Kakashi," Guy smirked, "I guess it's time we began our training."

"I guess it is." Kakashi replied, clearly uninterested.

"Whaddya say?" He bolted intensely, "Let's go a round! Winner gets to pick students first?"

Kakashi sighed and emotionlessly said, "You're on."

They then pounded their fists together and set them in course for a fierce competition. They locked their hands together and raised their thumbs. Whatever was going to happen, it was going to be fierce.

_One, two, three, four  
I declare a thumb war_

"One, two, three, you lose." Kakashi simply said as his thumb was pressuring Guy's, making him grunt in pain. He comforted his thumb and glared back at his officially eternal rival. "Best two out of three?"

"Look at those two." Shikaku smirked. "Competing over something so silly using a silly game to decide. What a drag."

"Well, today is our day to shine, as well." Choza said. "After all, you made an incredible feat. Your son was born before the Fourth Hokage's."

"Your son was born directly after, though." Inoichi joked. "Now all that's left is for my son to be born."

"Speaking of which," Shikaku stated, "Where is your wife and how is she doing?"

"She's already in the Hospital." He replied. "I wanted to stick around, but this speech was very important. Sure am glad she holds nothing against me for it."

Just then, an ANBU quickly arrived out of nowhere and simply said "Letter for you." And handed the letter to Inoichi and left. Inoichi read the letter and instantly bugged his eyes out. Then he sulked, much to his friends' sympathy. They read the letter, but instead laughed.

"You had a girl?!" Shikaku blurted. "I feel sorry for you." Inoichi noticed the silly grin and glared at him. "Shut up."

"Well, Kurenai," Asuma said, "It's time for us to begin our work as well."

"Y-yes, Asuma." She replied, slightly stammering and blushing.

"I heard your daughter was born recently, Hiashi." Hizashi complimented. "Congratulations."

"I sense great promise in your son." Hiashi said. "My only hope is that my daughter will be able to uphold the Family's Main Branch."

"I'm sure she will." Hizashi complimented. "She'll be fine. Don't worry."

"Oh!" Tsume grunted. "What's wrong?" Shibi asked.

"I think my water just broke." She replied.

"Come with me." He said. "I'll guide you to the Hospital."

"Thank you, Shibi." She said, while breathing intently, "I would be honored if your son were on the same team as my child." She grunted more as they walked out the door.

"I think I've seen enough here." Silver muttered to himself. "Well, Sonic, Shadow and I gotta regroup now." On that note, he silently levitated until he was high in the sky, out of viewer reach. He slowly made his way to the mountaintop.

XXXXX

Sonic sped up the side of the mountain, and leapt to his post when he finally reached the top. Silver hovered onto the top, while Shadow simply appeared out of nowhere, using Chaos Control.

"You guys can use this power for a reason, you know." Shadow mocked.

"What'd you see?" Sonic nonchalantly asked.

"I was in another part of Town." He said. "Labeled by a paper fan." Sonic looked more intent. "Something beckoned me over there… Some sort of evil power…"

"Was it the fox?" Silver asked.

"No… It was a child… and a baby… the baby was Sasuke, and the child's name was Itachi."

"Itachi, eh…?" Sonic replied with intrigue.

"You know him?"

"I fought him. He's after Naruto for the same reason as Eggman… Said it was for some Organization."

"That answers my question…" Shadow thought aloud. "What did you see?"

"I saw the Fourth Hokage."

"And?" Silver beseeched, "Did you ask him about the fox?"

"He doesn't live to tell the tale, remember?" Sonic chided. "Besides, we're supposed to keep a low profile."

"I saw the Third Hokage." Silver said. "But Tsunade doesn't seem to be here…This could affect the future pretty badly…"

"Tsunade told me the Third returns to his job after the Fourth's death." Sonic stated. "But one thing is most certain…"

"We're all on a wild duck hunt." Shadow scoffed. They sulked in realization of their failure. "I guess we should go back." Sonic and Silver nodded in agreement and held up their Emeralds. Just as they were about to chant, it suddenly became dark.

"That's funny…" Silver said. "It's too early for Sundown…"

"But it's no Eclipse…" Sonic said, staring at the bright, full moon. As they looked, they saw that everyone else was staring at the instant nighttime as well. Even the Fourth couldn't help but look out his window. Then, there was a small light that felt very hot coming from beyond the village entrance. They looked outside, even the Hedgehogs saw a spiraling fire above the distant forest.

"What's that?" Silver awed. "I feel a lot of energy coming from it."

"Me too." Shadow said.

"I think we've found our answer." Sonic grinned.

The fire continued to spin, but soon morphed into red bubbly energy. It began to formulate until it took shape. It seemed to take on a body of some sort…like a quadruped animal. Its legs formed long claws at its tips, and it grew a tail…no, two…three, they kept coming. Its head grew long pointy ears, its face grew a snout, which had long sharp fangs, It made eyes, which had slit pupils and the irises were red. Its body became rougher, as though it were growing fur. Its tails stopped growing when it reached its limit of nine. This foul beast roared into the night sky.

Everyone in the village began to panic and run around in circles. The ninja, ANBU and even the Fourth Hokage looked out to the beast and prepared for battle. Sonic, Shadow and Silver looked out on the horizon and saw the thing they have been looking for in its entire splendor.

"The Nine-Tailed Fox." They stated in agreement. Upon that, they leapt out into the scene.

XXXXX

The beast had murderous intentions and an unquenchable bloodlust in his eyes. He waved his tails around ferociously, and roared into the night. By doing so, he knocked many trees off their bases, wrecking the forest more than he already has. Little did he realize that several ninja from the village nearby were about to enter the scene to engage this monster. He growled with glee as he smacked his lips.

"All right, everyone!" The Fourth shouted, "This is the moment we've trained for all our lives! If we die, we die with honor and as heroes!" They all nodded in agreement as they headed off to face this monster. They readied their weapons and prepared for the battle of their lives.

"Hey there!" shouted an unfamiliar voice calling to the Fourth. It was a blue figure that leapt through the trees faster than his black and white allies or the Fourth himself. "Y'got room for three more in this fight?"

"Who are you?" he replied, "I don't think I've ever seen you in my village."

"I'm just a good friend of yours." Sonic replied.

"This is highly dangerous work, Stranger. You could be killed! You must flee, now!"

"Not gonna happen, pal!" Sonic smirked. "I got a beef with the fox myself!"

"What's your issue with it?"

"Let's just say it ruined the life of a close friend of mine. And if its reign continues, it could be very catastrophic."

"I'll take your word for it."

"That Sonic is such a showboat." Shadow muttered. "Why do I agree to go on these crazy missions along with him?"

"You invited us." Silver argued. "Don't expect to be happy with the results."

Shadow and Silver caught up with the Fourth and Sonic. They continued to leap into the midst of this fiery war. In fact, this is literally speaking, because the fox set the forest on fire with its tails. The noble leader was even more shocked to see the current results.

Many ninja fought valiantly, but were also slaughtered. They were pounded by the pressure of its massive tails and burnt to a crisp by the fire in its wake. Others were eaten alive or impaled by its massive fangs as they were eaten.

The Fourth gazed in horror. Others were retreating back to their master, realizing this was too much. "Forgive me, Lord Hokage." One of the survivors said. "This is too much! Many of us have already died! Don't hold this against me please!!!" He continued to run as the fox closed in.

"I can't believe this has gone by so quickly…" He muttered in horror. "You have overstayed your welcome!" He bit his thumbs and began forming signs. "Get by me!" He shouted, setting the three hedgehogs by his side. The fox began to close in with its giant fangs, until…

"**Summoning Jutsu**!"

As the fox took its bite, it was greatly unsatisfied, for it was impaled through the mouth, both jaws by a gigantic sword. Its wielder was a gigantic red frog wearing a blue vest with a symbol on its back. The monster whined in agony as blood dripped from its lips. "You should pay attention to a warning, you know." He said as he removed his weapon from the beast's jaws.

"Gamabunta!" Sonic gasped in realization.

The fox was furious now. His eyes started to glow and steam seeped from his wounds. Almost instantly, the steam began to seep thinner until it stopped. He roared again, this time pleased with the results.

"So he can heal himself." Shadow thought.

"Instantaneous cell reproduction won't help you here." The chief said. "I think you've caused enough problems in this fair little town."

"Are you ready, Bunta?" The Fourth called.

"Ready!" He replied. He formed a seal and instantly filled his mouth.

"**Toad Flame Bomb**!" The fourth blew flame from his mouth into the trail of oil that Gamabunta spat. The fire engulfed the monster as it braced itself. At first, it did nothing, but then it began to feel fatigue from this force. As the flame subsided, it leapt out and began breathing heavily.

"Why don't you three make yourselves useful as well?" Gamabunta demanded. "The Fourth and I can't handle this ourselves, you know."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Shadow grunted.

"What was that?" He growled.

Sonic smacked Shadow over the head and said, "Nothing, Chief! Let's go, guys!" Sonic and Silver leapt out, and Shadow, cursing Sonic, followed behind.

Silver held himself in the air through his Psychokinesis and held Sonic in his hands. He began spinning Sonic around and powering him up with Psychic energy. With full force, Sonic began spinning until Silver through him, using "**Psycho-Cannonball**!" to hurl Sonic at the fox with full force. The fox didn't expect this and was hit square between the eyes by the full force of this attack.

Sonic curled out of his position, but wasn't done yet. From his person, he pulled out a small capsule. It was flashing slightly until Sonic pressed a button, making it brighter. The capsule broke, releasing a ring. Sonic grabbed it and continued to spin. The spin was just as strong as before and he continued to pound on the beast mercilessly and faster than the wind. The fox was angered by this until he finally smacked him away.

Sonic went flying back and Shadow leapt out in his place. He embraced himself and began to glow. He unleashed himself and started flashing bright red. He flew out to the fox using the rocket boost of his air shoes and charged energy in his hand. He then unleashed "**Chaos Spear**!" onto this fiend. The arrows ht the beast, burning it slightly. He growled as proof. Shadow boosted himself to the beast and began beating it relentlessly with his fists and feet. The fox tried to smack him away, but he disappeared before it could, beating him in another spot. His did this as much as possible until the fox leapt away and blew fire at him through his mouth.

Shadow was knocked away, making it Silver's turn. Silver hovered to the air and shot green orbs of Psychic energy at it. This was quickly brushed off until Silver picked up and threw trees at it. The fox was caught off guard and pelted by the forest he threatened to burn. He roared at Silver, who threw his hands in front and shot a "**Psycho-Bolt**!" at it. It endured the hit, but was still lingering.

Silver was hit by a small jolt of lightning it shot back and the Fourth leapt out in his place. He formed his hands to use "**Shadow Clone Jutsu**!" to make five copies of himself. They all held their hands in together and started forming energy in them. It was spiraling rapidly until they formed them together. The five chakra balls became one ball as big as the user.

"**Rasengan**!"

The fox saw this coming and proceeded to bite down on the attack. It did a very serious number on the fox, but it also managed to dispel the Fourth's technique, blowing him back. He leapt off a tree and bolted back to the monster. He formed another seal and headed for its mouth. He activated "**Lightning Style: Raiden's Flight**!" as the monster bit down. It quickly roared in agony as another, much larger Rasengan was being pressed into the Kunai on its back, with a seal strapped to it.

"Just a little more!" He grunted. "This is where you take your exit… permanently!"

The fox was in incredible pain, but managed to use a little energy to smack him into the air with just a single blow from its tail. He went flying towards the village and fell in with a bang.

"No!" Sonic shouted, trying to run back.

"Sonic! We can't!" Shadow beckoned, grabbing his arm. "We have a much bigger problem!"

The fox was still in great pain as it had a huge crater in its back where the Rasengan hit. He was absolutely enraged now. He started charging towards the Hedgehogs and Gamabunta with full speed.

"This is unbelievable!" Sonic shouted. "It just keeps recovering!"

"How are we going to beat it if it keeps coming at us?" Shadow grunted.

"I know a way." Silver stated. "I know a technique that's strong enough to stop even him. It won't defeat him, but it should fatigue him long enough for us to hold him in place with Chaos Control. It could be risky, but I have to do it."

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other and nodded back to Silver.

Silver stepped forward, closed his eyes and waited for the fox. While waiting, he began to concentrate. The fox charged further with massive speed, and as it did, Silver's body began to glow a bright cyan. It was unfazed, however, but Silver finally opened his eyes, glowing so bright, not even his irises could be seen. He threw his hands forward, and performed a massive attack.

"**Psycho Leviathan**!!!"

He shot out a massive cyan snake-like dragon at the fox, just as it came within a yard of Gamabunta. This blast was so powerful, it stopped the fox in its tracks. It tried to fight it by stepping forward, but the power was too great. Before he knew it, the fox was blown back by the attack. This was indeed strong enough to finally slow it down. The nine tailed fox was exhausted and could barely stand.

Silver was also thrown off by this technique. It was his, and it was so great that it brought him to his knees. Shadow patted his back and stared off into the distance, as did Sonic. They looked out to the fox, who was struggling to stand. In just a few minutes, Silver was back on his feet and the three ran off to the beast.

"Interesting." Gamabunta thought to himself. "I've never seen such promise in three strangers. Judging their appearance, I suspect they must be the manifestation of Time and Space intertwining. I have a feeling I will see them again someday. But before I make my leave…"

The great Chief Toad leapt into the air and shot a barrage of "**Water Style: Liquid Bullet**!" at the forest to extinguish the flames created by the fox. Before he could return to the ground, he disappeared in a great cloud of smoke.

The fox tried to get up again, but before he knew it, he was caught in the spell of "**Chaos Control**!" He began to grunt in pain as the three hedgehog morsels held him in midair using the power of the three gems. He blinked upon seeing them.

"So…" He spoke, "You too…possess the power…of the Emeralds…"

"You can talk?!?" Silver blurted, "That's astounding!!"

"Wait…" Sonic realized. "How do you know about the Chaos Emeralds?"

The beast chuckled. "I also know you are from another world and a future timeline. I know…because I can shift through time and space…"

"What do you mean?" Shadow queried demandingly.

The beast growled as he stared at them. He then chuckled, as if to admire their courage. This caught the attention of the hedgehogs.

"I can shift through time and space. I can appear within the distant past of the farthest future. I can move east, west, north and south through the dimensional fabric. My desire is to feast upon delicious food. Living flesh, acting bodies, they're all the same to me. Just food waiting to be eaten. In my hunger, I came across a tranquil island with an altar, and mounted upon it, eight jewels. I could feel intense power emanating from those gems. It burned my eyes, my fur, my body. This magic was of positive origin…and I hated it…But I made the unfortunate mistake to anger its guardian. A beast, like myself. With its energy of those seven jewels, it engaged me in battle. I was ousted almost easily, because of his power… I'll never forget its name… the very same you used…** Chaos Control**… But there was a flaw in this power, I realized… It was only when he held all seven when I could be completely contained… Any fewer could be easily overpowered… You hold three… You look delicious…"

They listened intently to the monster's words. Even that last bit. "I'm…" Before they knew it, the fox broke free of the Control and roared back at his opponents.

"STARVING!!!!!"

He leapt at the hedgehogs again, before…

"**RASENGAN**!!!"

The beast was hit by yet another Rasengan as the Fourth Hokage finally leapt back into action. This attack was as huge as it was last time, and it knocked the beast on its back. This time, the benevolent leader was holding something in his arms. A wool cloth, covering something. It made light noises as it slept in his arms.

"What are you doing?" Sonic asked nervously.

"I must protect this village." He said solemnly. "This monster must be contained."

"What?!" Silver shouted. "You can't!!! If you die, the village will be lost!!!"

"I have to. This village is my home. And I will risk my life to defend it."

Sonic nearly broke into tears as he said these next words:

"I am…the Fourth Hokage."

He stepped forward as the fox stood on its feet again. He unveiled a scroll as the monster stared at him, both hungrily and angrily. He twirled the scroll around as he drew many symbols and signs on the scroll. He held it in front of him, as if it levitated on its own, and he formed hand signs. It was further surprising to see what was next…

"**Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal**!!!"

Upon that, a large mass of ghostly energy appeared behind him. It pierced through the Fourth and pulled the fox through him. Not only that, it turned the fox into fiery energy. As it pulled through, the fox was pulled into the scroll that was in front of him. The Fourth formed another hand signal, and held the clothed child in front of him. Then, the scroll began to expel its fiery energy and enveloped the child. Just as quickly, it started to seep into him. He gently placed it down in front of him, struggling to stand all the while. He formed two last signals, and the printing on the scroll levitated out of the paper and disappeared into the child.

The Fourth nodded at his work and then passed out behind himself. Sonic, Shadow and Silver ran towards him and Sonic held him up. He shook him, trying to wake him up, but to no prevail.

Sonic shed a few tears as he mourned the death of a great leader. Giving his life to stop a great threat. Sonic glanced over to the child, who was still sleeping despite what he underwent. He unfolded the flap to see his face, and almost magically, markings appeared on his face. Three whiskers embedded on both of his cheeks. Sonic's eyes widened at this.

"His name…is Naruto…Uzumaki…"

Sonic, Shadow and Silver looked back at the Fourth, struggling to give his last request.

"I want… my son… to be honored… as a hero… Don't… fear… the fox… remember… he… saved… our village…never… for… get… that… dear… stranger…"

Sonic nodded as he shed more tears. Silver and Shadow empathized his sorrow and patted his back.

"There was nothing we could've done." Shadow said. "We must go now."

Sonic wiped the last of his tears away. "Yea… Just… give me a minute."

"Meet us at the mountain." Silver said. Then, they both started to run off into the distance. Sonic knelt down to the Hokage for a few minutes, got back up, shed one last tear and ran back to the direction of the mountain.

XXXXX

"It appears we were too late…" mourned the Third Hokage, who was wearing black plated armor, as he and a few ANBU soldiers stood over the Fourth's dead body. He then took notice of the note on his chest. He picked it up, and one of the ANBU held the baby placed aside him.

_I want my son to be honored as a hero. Don't fear the fox. Remember, he saved our village. Never forget that._

_-The Fourth Hokage_

"He has the seal on his stomach." The ANBU said, still holding his chest. "The Fourth must have used that powerful Jutsu to seal the fox… in his baby boy…"

"Let us go…" The Third said. "My retirement is officially over."

"Right." Another ANBU held the deceased Hokage and they all leapt off.

Meanwhile, back up the top of the mountain, Sonic, Shadow and Silver had used "**Chaos Control**!" to open a rift back to the present. Silver, then Shadow leapt through, and Sonic took another look before going through.

XXXXX

As the three leapt out of the rift, they discussed what their next move would be.

"So…" Sonic started. "That explains the odd condition of Naruto's."

"The Nine-Tailed Fox can be manipulated by Chaos Control…" Silver reminisced. "But what did he mean by 'contained by all Seven'?"

"I don't know." Shadow scoffed. "But that may also explain Gaara's condition. He said he possessed a similar power to Naruto's, and collapsed from Chaos Control after we defeated the Future Metal Sonic…Gaara's demon must be of a similar breed."

"So what do you suggest?" Sonic crossed his arms as he said.

"I suggest:" Shadow remarked, "that we teach Naruto and Gaara Chaos Control."

"Easier said than done." Silver spat. "You're better at it than we are."

"Doesn't mean it can't be done." Shadow returned. "We need to be prepared for when we fight Metal Sonic. If we delay… All of existence is doomed."

Sonic and Silver nodded to this.

"I'm going back to the Sand Village to take my head start." He said. "We'll need all the Chaos Emeralds if we're to confront him. Tell Tails we've got two more to find."

"Two?" Sonic asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha borrowed his Emerald." Shadow replied.

He held his Emerald to the air and warped away. Silver walked off to another direction and Sonic was about to see Naruto until…

"WHAM!"

Shadow did a spin kick to Sonic's head behind him. "That's for hitting me on that big frog. Don't ever touch me in that manner." He warped off again.

XXXXX

Sonic headed to the entrance, and took note of a few Medical-ops carrying a bandaged girl on a stretcher. He brushed this off as he looked at Naruto, Ino, Shino and Anko at the entrance.

"Hi there, Sonic!" Ino shouted. "Good to see you again!"

"Hey there, guys." Sonic said. "How've you been?"

"Just returned from a staggering mission." Anko shrugged. "Man, you should've been there."

"Well, it was fun and all," Shino shrugged, "but I must be going now." On that, he walked off.

"Hiya, Sonic!" Naruto cheered. "Boy am I glad to see a smiling face after that mission I was on!"

"Well, I gotta go as well." Anko said. "Me too!" Ino followed.

"Naruto." Sonic sternly said. "There's something I must tell you."

"Uh…Okay…?" He replied, confused as ever.

"Metal Sonic must be stopped at all costs. And to do so, we must continue to increase our strength. You, most of all must learn to control your power in order to stop him. He requires it to succeed. If he does…the entire fabric of the universe is doomed."

Naruto was still a little confused, but he understood his words. "What exactly are you trying to tell me?"

"I'm going to teach you to use Chaos Control."

Naruto's eyes widened at this. How could he, of all people, use a power like that?

"The Nine-Tailed Fox can be overpowered by the Chaos Emeralds. It weakened you at first, but if you learn to control it, you can stand up to Metal Sonic. Do you understand?"

Naruto simply nodded.

"Tomorrow's another day." Sonic then ran off to the distance.

"Where did that come al of a sudden?" Naruto rhetorically asked.


	20. Return to the Hidden Mist

Chapter 20: Return to the Hidden Mist

"Ugh…" Sonic groaned as they floated across a misty fog on a small boat. "Water, huh…I should've seen this as a given…"

"Well, they don't call it the 'Land of Waves' for nothing. We are out on the Lake." Ino sarcastically remarked, sitting aside Shikamaru, half asleep with his palm to his cheek, and Choji, who was wolfing down chips for no special reason.

"Well, it is a pretty nice place." Naruto said, looking out to the village, barely visible in the morning mist. "The Land of Waves is known for the bridge built here last year."

Indeed, this was true. This boat was headed for the Land of Waves. The very same where Naruto found his first comparison in life, and the very same where Kakashi battled Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, who was once under the employ of a foul businessman who ruled this land with an iron fist, plunging its citizens into fear and poverty. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi had been here once before to protect the town's renowned bridge builder from harm, especially from Zabuza and his subordinate, Haku.

Shinji led a small group of eight, including himself to investigate unusual goings-on within the village. The Ino-Shika-Cho with Shikamaru as co-leader for the additional assistance, Sonic and Naruto so they can perform their personal training, and since Naruto had been here before, and Blaze and Espio for reconnaissance purposes.

"This doesn't seem like the kind of place for one like me…" Blaze shuddered.

"Why do you say that?" Espio queried.

"This is the Land of _Waves_, where Water is found." Blaze explained. "Two reasons why that bothers me. One: My name is Blaze the _Cat_. Two: My name is _Blaze_ the Cat."

"You really seem very withdrawn." Espio chided in reply. "But, I guess it can't be helped."

"Remember, everybody." Shinji declared in a firm tone of voice, "We're here to investigate unusual happenings within this village. If we do find anything unusual that has happened, we must report it back to Lady Tsunade. If you see anything strange, tell me _immediately_." After that, he looked back to the Village.

"I've never seen Shinji-sensei so serious before." Ino whispered. "Naruto, you've been here before, is there any reason he's so dedicated to this mission?"

"Nothing I'd know of…" Naruto said as he rolled his eyes. "He showed up to me and told me to come on this mission. I hardly had a say in it…"

Shinji was here, not only to lead this mission, but also to place a bit of personal business as well.

XXXXX

"Anko Mitarashi." Tsunade said as she sat behind her desk filing reports. "I have a new mission for you."

"Okay then." She replied, enthusiastically, "What's the Skippy?"

"I've gotten this letter from Tazuna, the Bridge builder in the Land of Waves." Shinji, who had been alphabetizing Shinobi Profiles in the bookcase on the shelf to the left of her desk, listened intently on this remark.

"It seems that very unusual events have occurred within their village. And even during the week of the first anniversary of their town monument, the Great Naruto Bridge had been built."

"Great Naruto Bridge, huh?" Anko remarked. "That wouldn't be named after _our_ Naruto, would it?"

"According to Kakashi, yes. It's the very same." Tsunade nodded. "That boy gave hope to their lonely little burg a year back and dedicated their monument to him."

"I'll bet." She shrugged. "Now what's with the unusual business?"

"He doesn't seem to be sure. He claims it to be a Ghost sighting or something…"

"Ghost of whom?"

"Zabuza Momochi."

"You mean the Rogue Ninja from the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen?"

"Exactly. Kakashi got in an intense scuffle that same year back, but he and his pupil died to save their village from a brutish entrepreneur. But why he would attack them after that, I don't know. This reeks of funny business, that's for sure."

Anko quickly turned to the sound of books toppling to the ground as Shinji marched over to Tsunade's desk, slammed his hands on it and said, "Let me lead this mission."

"Why you?" Anko said. "What's so special to you about this?"

"Kakashi's team was sent there a year back, right? He fought Zabuza, right? If anything, I should look into why his accomplishment is being unraveled. I want to see my brother's handiwork with my own eyes."

Tsunade looked into his expression, serious and unflinching. She looked for a few seconds, and then smiled. "All right. Shinji Hatake, I am counting on you."

"What?!" Anko gasped.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to find another mission for you." Tsunade said. Shinji nodded, and left the room, receiving a glare from Anko behind him.

XXXXX

Shinji stared intently at the village, hoping to investigate the matters his brother had resolved as well as correct whatever problem had defiled it. He was dedicated to finding out what went wrong, and resolving it before it got out of hand. He thought that to himself continuously as the boat reached its dock.

Ino nudged Shikamaru awake as Shinji led everyone off the boat and to the central building in the village: The house of Tazuna, the bridge builder.

"You guys are gonna love it here." Naruto excitedly commented, "There's this really big bridge that connects this village to the mainland. It's the perfect way back to the village! Believe it!"

"If that's the case, why couldn't we take that in the first place?" Sonic scoffed.

"If there is something suspicious going on in this village," Shikamaru groaned, "then odds are, they beefed up security to keep people out or in, until this problem is fixed."

"Shikamaru is exactly right." Shinji said, not changing his expression, "We came in from under to draw attention away from us. If anyone guarding the town knew we were coming, they would only try to keep us out. It's a legitimate strategy for a Shinobi to find a secondary entrance when the primary one is inaccessible."

"It's always important to think your plans through, you know." Choji nodded, still munching chips.

"Well, we'd better be on our guard." Blaze said. "It may not be easy to pass as tourists."

Shinji knocked on the door of the house just ahead. It was early in the morning, so the villagers were bound to be asleep. This is good, because they were able to pass by quite easily.

As the door opened, a girl stood at its entrance and rubbed her eyes. "Can I help you?" she said.

"Is this the house of Tazuna, the Bridge Builder?" Shinji asked.

"Yes…" She said, still groggy. "Can you come again in about an hour? Everyone is still sleeping."

"I'm afraid we can't wait for that, Ma'am." He said. "We're here on important business for Konoha. It's important that we speak to him as soon as we can."

"Konoha…?" she groaned, and then looked at his headband. "Oh! You're here about…" She twitched her fingers, as if urging him to lean over and whispered, "…the ghosts?"

"Yes."

"Come in. I'll go get him for you. Wait in the living room."

XXXXX

The eight of them walked in and made themselves comfortable in the living room, even if it was in different ways. Shinji and Naruto sat on two mats on the ground, Choji sat on a sofa, which Shikamaru slept on, Ino sat aside Blaze and Espio, and Sonic leaned atop the same sofa as Choji and Shikamaru. It wasn't long before the man they needed to speak to came along.

"What does a guy have to do to get a little shut-eye this early in the morning?"

"Tazuna, the Bridge Builder," Shinji declared, "We need to have a word with you."

"Yea, yea, yea." The old man slurred, "Just give me a second to stretch up."

As the man stretched his body and rubbed his eyes, he put on a pair of glasses and quickly took notice of a familiar face.

"Naruto?"

"Hi there, Mister Tazuna!" Naruto waved, "Good to see you again!"

"Ah, how could I ever forget the smiling face of that hyperactive mug of yours?" He laughed. "But it seems you haven't grown much since I last saw you."

Naruto childishly stuck his tongue out at the old man, who urged the three on his sofa to scoot over. They did just that, and he sat down. He yawned for a brief moment and asked a few quick questions to him.

"So how's young Sakura doing?"

"Oh, she's doing fine. She's doing some new training with our Fifth Hokage."

"Ah, so the Fifth has already been assigned, eh? That's good, that's good. What about Sasuke?"

Naruto quickly lowered his head and his face turned blue with depression. Ino did just the same, earning a dirty look from a sleepy Shikamaru.

"Sasuke left our village without a word a while back." Shinji said. "It's…too upsetting to speak of."

"Oh…Sorry to hear that…" Tazuna shrugged. "Now, may I get to know the rest of our little team here?"

"Certainly." Shinji nodded. "My name is Shinji Hatake. You may remember Kakashi Hatake from a while back. He is my brother." Tazuna nodded.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka." She winked.

"I'm Choji Akamichi." He huffed.

"I'm Shikamaru Nara." He nodded.

"That's good to know…" He glanced over to the spiky mouse, cat and lizard sitting just aside them. "I must either not be awake yet, or I'm going senile. I'm seeing human animals."

"We do exist, sir." Blaze groaned.

"My name is Sonic the Hedgehog." He said as he held hid thumb out.

"I am Blaze the Cat." She nodded.

"And I'm Espio the Chameleon." He said, pulling out a kunai.

"You guys are pretty weird hallucinations…" He slurred. "First, those Ghost sightings, now this."

"These Hallucinations have feelings, buddy!" Sonic scoffed.

"W-w-wait." Naruto blinked. "D-d-did you say…g-g-ghost sightings?"

"Yes." Shinji answered. "We are here to investigate unusual supernatural happenings in this area."

"O-o-oh…" Naruto stammered. "Great…More ghost stuff…"

"Are you scared?" Ino mocked.

"Nah, of course not!" Naruto recoiled. "It's just this morning breeze! I feel kinda chilly."

"Sure ya do." Shikamaru yawned, earning a glare.

"Yes, Ghosts." Tazuna replied. "Or at least, that's what we believe."

"Can you explain what has been happening in this village?" Shinji proposed.

"This week is the first anniversary of our beloved monument, the Great Naruto Bridge. We-"

"Hold on," Ino interrupted, "The Great _Naruto_ Bridge? You don't mean _our_ Naruto, do you?"

"Yes."

"Come on, don't make up jokes like that sir! That's gotta be the dumbest-"

"He's One hundred percent serious, Ino." Shinji darted. "Team 7 came here a year ago to defend this man, and it was Naruto who enlightened the hearts of these innocent people when things looked bleak."

"Are you sure you don't mean Sasuke?" She pouted.

"Are you questioning the Village standards, Ino?"

"N-no, no of course not!" She stammered in response to his irritated tone of voice.

"Naruto is much greater than you give him credit for." Tazuna crossed. "If you don't like it, then live with it. Believe it."

"He's got a point, Ino." Choji agreed.

"Yea." Shikamaru smirked. "Would you risk your life for Sasuke?"

Ino crossed her arms, huffed away and mumbled to herself in her spot.

"Anywho." Shinji continued. "Please continue, sir."

"This week is our monument's first anniversary. It's a momentous occasion since our hopes were restored and we wanted to celebrate. We were preparing for a great festival, but…"

They all leaned intently to the wise man's words.

"…About two weeks ago, some very strange happenings were going on. We were receiving various Ghost sightings of the late assassins who once worked for the entrepreneur, Gato…"

"Zabuza Momochi and Haku…" Naruto whispered to himself.

"The very same. They gave their lives to rid our town of that man, but seemed to return to us in a ghostly mist to wreak their horrifying wrath on us…"

"But why would they terrorize this single village?" Naruto queried. "Zabuza was a mercenary for hire."

"If only I knew myself." Tazuna groaned. "I fear this may be foretelling the end of our fair village…Curse this horrifying festival…"

"You don't really believe that ghosts exist," Sonic asked, "do you?"

"Not before this, my fine illusion." Sonic's eyebrow twitched to this. "But if you don't call it that, then I don't know what to call it."

"Rest assured, we will look into this, my good sir." Shinji nodded. "We can prove there are no ghosts and you can get along with your festival."

"If only you could say that…to those who died each week…"

They widened their eyes in response to this. "Those who died?" Naruto gasped.

"They come to take sacrifices each week. And they will not stop until they have either destroyed our village or we cancel our anniversary. I don't want to relive last year, so I have no other choice."

"But Mister Tazuna…!" Naruto pleaded.

"Please. Just go. We have too many regrets as it is…"

Shinji showed an expression of regret to this. "Let's go, everyone."

They had no other choice but to leave him alone. The eight of them walked outside, leaving him to sulk.

XXXXX

"So what do we do now?" Ino asked sympathetically.

"We do what we came here to do, of course." Shinji responded. "We never give up until a mission is completed. That is the way of a Konoha ninja."

"All right. So what do we do?" Sonic asked.

"Shikamaru. You are my assistant leader. I want you, Ino and Choji to investigate the village for anything that might lead us in the right direction." Shikamaru, Ino and Choji looked at each other and nodded. "Naruto, Sonic, Espio and Blaze, I want you to investigate the forest."

"What are you gonna do?" Naruto asked.

"I have a specific place I need to look." He replied. "You have your assignments, everybody. Move out!"

"Yes, sir!" They all said, scattering to the distance. Shinji looked behind him and headed off in the direction of the hill that overlooks the ocean.

XXXXX

As Sonic, Naruto, Espio and Blaze were strolling through the forest searching for clues, Sonic took this opportunity to teach Sonic how to utilize Chaos Control. It wouldn't be easy, knowing that Chaos Control takes much concentration and it takes a long while for Naruto to master certain techniques, but if it was going to defeat Metal Sonic, they would have to take that chance.

"Okay, Naruto, I'm gonna have to put you to work." Sonic announced. "If you wanna learn Chaos Control, we can't stop training you for anything."

"Well, I dunno…" Naruto shrugged. "I'm not sure if I can do it like you, Silver and that Shadow guy, but I can give it a shot."

"It's not just a way to warp through places and time periods, you know." Sonic crossed. "You can also perform really cool techniques, like your Rasengan, for example."

"Really?" He said with mild enthusiasm. "Are you sure I won't pass out like last time?"

"Well," Sonic paused, "Let's say I know this guy who was affiliated with the Nine-Tailed Fox within you."

"Okay…" He raised an eyebrow.

"He stated that the Fox could travel through Dimensions and at some point found my world. He found the Seven Emeralds and their guardian, an entity named Chaos. They engaged in battle and Chaos used the Emeralds to fight back. By using all Seven, he was able to defeat and neutralize the demon, while he was at a disadvantage with all fewer before the Seven."

"Sounds like I could have some trouble…" Naruto shrugged.

"But when Shadow, Silver, Emerl and I fought Metal Sonic in the Future, we used Chaos Control to defeat him, and he released a mass of Red Chakra that resembled it."

"Wait…" Naruto said with concern, "You said it could only be beaten by all seven emeralds, and back there, we had four…How was he beaten so easily?"

"Metal Sonic really is like that guy Orochimaru." Sonic nodded. "He seeks power without the thought of what power really is…" He thought for a second, then said, "I guess Metal Sonic was a poor host to the Fox…"

"Hmmm…" Naruto groaned, staring at his own hand.

"But I've seen you fight like a real beast when you got really, _really_ mad." Sonic grinned. "I bet you can use Chaos Control by synchronizing with the fox, like those other times."

"You really think I could do it?" Naruto asked with enlightenment.

"Tsunade told me the Fourth Hokage had high hopes for you." He reassured. "If you have faith in yourself and your village, then there's no obstacle you shouldn't be able to accomplish."

Naruto smiled and held a thumb up to Sonic. "Thank you."

"Will you two quit standing around and actually do some work?" Blaze called out.

"We need to find some information like Shinji asked." Espio agreed.

"Always a good place to start." Sonic said, placing his Chaos Emerald in Naruto's hand. Naruto bore a confused look on his face.

"How do I do this thing like you?"

"Well…" Sonic thought, "Try using it like you would your Rasengan."

Naruto thought about this as he held it in his hand. He placed it in his pocket and followed after the group.

XXXXX

Shinji walked up to the hill and passed through the last clearing of trees at its summit. As the last passage was cleared, he came upon an interesting site. It was a wooden cross to the right of where Shinji would be. Interestingly, the grass grew a little taller in front of it. And there was another mound of taller grass next to that one. Shinji walked over to get a closer look. As he looked at the grass mound, he leaned over to see what was behind it. And then…

"PLUSH!" The dirt collapsed underneath his foot and he backed away before he could fall in.

"What the hell is this?" He thought to himself. He moved a little closer to see what it was. From his point of view, it seemed like a small pit trap, but upon closer inspection, the ground that caved in really was solid dirt and grass. He looked to the other one and stepped on top of it, "PLUSH!" only to get the same result.

"How could anyone place a hole underneath solid ground?" He asked himself. He looked at the wooden cross up close to see written symbols that read "Here lies Haku" on it. "This is a grave…" He looked to the left, and realized that hole was a grave as well. But its tombstone was missing. This was no ordinary grave robbing that occurred. These graves must've been transported somehow.

He realized something _very_ suspicious was afoot here, so he left back to the village to see what else he could find.

XXXXX

"Man, what is with Shinji-sensei?" Ino moaned. "I've never seen him this dedicated on a mission before!"

"Well, it only makes sense…" Shikamaru chided, "After all, Kakashi's his brother and he came here on a mission last year. But why he's so serious about returning here is the confusing part."

"I don't get it either…" Choji mumbled. "But these ghost sightings might have something to do with it, I guess."

They were discussing this matter as they were passing through the neighborhood of the village. Now that it's a little later during the day, it's much more active. Full of children playing, shops offering their wares and passers-by enjoying the day like any other. But some were aware of the haunted festival and watched their backs, hoping they wouldn't be next.

"You can't help but wonder why this day seems just like any other…" Ino puzzled. "I mean, people died because of this festival."

"Well, we'd better be careful…" Shikamaru stated. "You never know what'll happen."

"Hello, fine children!" a local concierge called out to the group. "You three look like you could use some good food!"

"You bet we could!" Choji answered without missing a second.

"Whaddya mean 'we'?" Ino and Shikamaru darted back at him.

"I don't want to impose," he replied back. He seemed to be dressed much like the Ramen shop owner back at the village. "But I thought it would also be nice for you to know that our dishes and recipes are free today! Special sale for the first customers of the day!"

Choji looked at his partners with hunger in his puppy dog eyes. They both sighed and the three of them walked in.

Once they were settled, they were quickly set on three mats in front of a nice table. It had a flower in a cold vase, nicely set plates, napkins, silverware and everything. Just as they observed their wares, the waiter, who was obviously the same guy as before, walked up to them and said, "I'm sorry, but there is a short waiting period you must take. We'll have your food ready momentarily." before walking off just as quickly as he came.

"What a real drag…" Shikamaru scoffed. "We gotta sit through this kind of crap, when we should be out there carrying orders."

"It's always important to keep your strength up in the midst of a mission." Choji nodded. "Besides, I didn't have breakfast this morning…"

"I guess, we'd better fill our bellies…" Ino sighed. "Shinji-sensei's mission can wait. What's the worst that could happen?"

Little did they realize that out from the shadows, someone was going to gut them like fish with a giant butcher's knife."

XXXXX

Back in the woods, the group continued to observe the area for anything that would look in the slightest like it could be suspicious. Blaze was the first to come across a clue.

"The grass in this spot…" She said, plucking a piece of yellow grass which crackled to bits as she clutched it between her fingers. "It's dead…"

"This is a very unpleasant sight." Espio agreed, looking upon the rotten grass in the area, as well as the dead flowers. Many birds flew away from this spot, hoping to avoid the same fate. "The sun's hardly that bright, and even if it was, it doesn't shine on this spot…Actually, it feels rather cold…"

"I don't like the look of this…" Sonic crossed. "This forest was so pleasant just a little while ago…"

Naruto was very shocked by it. This brought back memories of the boy who came to these woods, picking herbs, and taught him a very important lesson.

"If you have something that's precious to you, you will risk everything you have to protect it."

These words continued to run through his mind like a broken record as he stared at this spot. He was very saddened and very intimidated by this sight.

"You okay, man?" Sonic asked, shaking Naruto gently. "You kinda zoned out there. Is something the matter?"

Naruto, having just woken up from his daydream, answered with, "No…It's nothing…"

"We'd better tell Shinji about this…" Blaze said as she started to walk away. "Come on."

"Yea…" Naruto agreed. Just as he turned around, he took quick notice of a tree in the distance. Three long needles were poking into its bark. Naruto's eyes widened at realization to this sight.

"Let's go." He worried. "It's not safe here anymore."

"Why not?" Sonic wondered. On that mark, even more needles pierced the ground, threatening to kill them. Then, it started to get increasingly foggy, which worried Naruto more. Suddenly, the patch of dead grass turned into a spiraling pool of water. And from beneath it, a figure appeared. Sonic, Naruto Blaze and Espio readied themselves for battle.

This figure had long, black hair tied into a bun on the back, and had long dreadlocks on each side of its face. It wore a green robe with long orange bloomers. It wore a white mask with a red stripe and had two slits where the eyes should be. This person appeared to be Naruto's age as well as his height. Naruto shuddered as he recognized exactly who the figure was.

"It's been a while, Naruto…" It spoke. Then, the figure removed its mask to reveal the face of a beautiful girl. Naruto recognized this person as his old adversary and friend, Haku.

XXXXX

Shinji walked along the neighborhood hoping to find clues about the ghost sightings and the empty graves he encountered earlier. He couldn't find clues, but he did notice that everyone seemed to not be in the neighborhood. This part of the neighborhood was close to the lake nearby. In fact, this part of town seemed to be abandoned. He couldn't help but feel like the area was too quiet…Then it started to get cold…

He also noticed there was a mist in the air as it got cold. He knew this cold was very suspicious somehow. Then something appeared…It spun in great succession…towards Shinji! He rolled out of the way before a giant sword, spinning like a boomerang slashed him in its succession. Then, it ascended and stuck itself to a tree.

Standing atop the sword just as Shinji saw it was a figure with pale skin, and long blue camouflage pants, and misty white sleeves over his forearms. His face was bandaged and he wore his forehead protector on the side of his head. Its symbol was a set of four diagonal lines. The symbol of the Hidden Mist Village.

Shinji gasped as the figure spoke. "I don't think we've met." He said. He turned his head around to look at his adversary…or in this case, his prey. He leapt over and grabbed the sword off its mount and stood facing Shinji, who stood his ground for battle.

"I am Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist."


	21. Pawns of the Dead

Chapter 21: Pawns of the Dead

Shinji stared off at his opponent with long extent and anticipation. To think, he was about to fight the legendary Zabuza Momochi, the very same who died a year ago! Shinji was a little bit intimidated by this discovery, but stood his ground. This could be a form of Genjutsu, or the fears of the village truly have come true…He prepared to fight for his life, but he was also the first to break the silence.

"I heard you were dead." He said firmly. "It's a little surprising to see you standing before me."

"Haven't you heard, kid?" Zabuza replied, with a wicked bloodlust in his eyes. "Demons don't die…We're immortal…"

"If you're not going to take this seriously," Shinji replied, "then how about I just kill you again? The markings on your sword say you should've been." He in fact remarked the writing on his sword, which said "Here lies Zabuza Momochi."

"You're one to talk." He guffawed. "You shouldn't play Ninja with the likes of me…You could get hurt…or worse…killed…"

"That didn't stop you from fighting Kakashi's Genin squad." He retorted. "I've heard a lot about you from him. After all, he is my brother."

"A crying shame that is…" Zabuza stated, catching his attention. "…I heard he had many people dear to him. I heard they were also dead. It'd be a shame to add someone that close to his morgue."

"I'm astonished you would know what shame is." Shinji scoffed. "You were wanted for killing several innocents and killed many students during the Chunin exam without the slightest regret."

"What kind of demon would I be if I don't add to my power?"

"You are a cold, heartless monster, my foe." Shinji glared. "I think it would be an honor if I were to put you back in your place so Kakashi's mark would not be defiled."

"If that's the way you want it…" Zabuza snickered. "…Then I'd be happy to toy with you for awhile…"

"Very well." Shinji nodded off, and proceeded to take his first move by drawing a kunai from his pocket, twirling it and gripping it in his hand. Then, he just as quickly rushed over and prepared to slash him. Zabuza closed his eyes and swung his sword effortlessly. Shinji leapt, expecting the sword and from above, gripped three shuriken within his hand. Then, he threw them down to him, and he used his sword to shield himself. He twirled his sword and prepared to chop him, but Shinji leapt off the tree beside Zabuza before it could hit him.

Zabuza, glancing the lake nearby formed a hand sign to perform "**Water Style: Water Wall**!" to form a tidal wave in the water and shoot a geyser up. Shinji looked up as the jet was about to move towards him. Shinji leapt back as the water hit the ground, but gasped when the water flew back up to him. He crossed his hands in front of himself to shield the attack. Interestingly, this was done quite successfully.

Shinji landed back on the ground and thrust another kunai in Zabuza's direction. This one hit him, but as he grunted, he also disappeared into a puddle of water.

"A water clone?" He thought. "He's thinking ahead…I may have to resort to _that_ if this keeps up…"

On that note, the sword spiraled in his direction yet again, but this time, Shinji caught it in his hands and threw it back into the direction it came from. Zabuza leapt up and caught the sword and prepared to slice him yet again. Shinji leapt back, just as the sword hit the ground, making a small fissure. Shinji leapt back into the air and prepared to land back down.

"That's a pretty powerful weapon you've got there, dead man." Shinji grunted. "But how do you like this?!"

As he landed, he thrust his fist into the ground, and it pounded the ground into itself, thrusting the rest of the ground up and throwing large rocks to the sky. Zabuza leapt up and was astonished to see this feat of strength.

"That kid's pretty strong…" Zabuza thought. "But how? No human is _that_ strong…"

As the rocks onto back into the ground, Shinji and Zabuza landed outside of the crater left in its wake. They didn't continue, so they must have more questions for one another.

"That's some impressive strength, kid." Zabuza applauded. "You wouldn't have learned it from that Sannin, Tsunade, now did you?"

Shinji grinned before saying, "In a way, yes. I did."

XXXXX

Naruto, aside Sonic, Blaze and Espio stood down looking over at the sight that appeared in front of them from a puddle of water that was originally a spot of dead grass. Haku was standing there and he stared coldly at Naruto. Why was he upset when Naruto experienced the same story as him? More importantly, why was he even here? He died before Zabuza back then!

"It's been awhile, Naruto." He spoke. "I wanted to see you again."

Naruto just stared back, very frightened, since he was talking to someone who was supposed to be dead. He couldn't stand to even look, but was as if motionless, since he did anyway.

"Naruto," Sonic whispered, "You know that girl?"

"Yea." He replied. "This is Haku, who was with Zabuza back then. And get this, Haku's actually a guy!"

"What?!" Sonic gasped. "He's even prettier than Sakura!"

"That's what I said!"

"You two!" Blaze scolded. "Focus!" They stared back Haku, and finally took the opportunity to question him about these recent turn of events.

"Why are you here?" Naruto said first. "I was there for last year's battle to the death."

"You also know I was the unfortunate loser." Haku replied. "Yet here I stand."

"Why are you terrorizing these good people?" Blaze interrogated. "You died to save them, remember?"

Haku looked up and was partially silent. Then he said, "Yes, I do remember." He then glared back at the group before him. "But you don't know the full story..." This made everyone except Naruto raise their eyebrows. Naruto looked down in shame. "What did happen, in that case?"

"You see…" Haku said, emotionlessly, "I was killed…by Kakashi Hatake."

"What?!?" Sonic harked. "What do you mean?!"

"Zabuza was in danger…so I threw myself in front to protect him…That was the last I remember…seeing his face of my Master's Assassin…"

"That doesn't explain why you and your Master are harming the economy of the Hidden Mist Village." Sonic pointed back.

"It was an order…" He said.

This caught Naruto's attention. "By who?"

"I'm not going to tell you." He replied. "Instead, I'm going to carry out my next task…" Then he drew out his needles between his fingers and prepared to fight. "…to kill you, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto gasped in fear, but prepared to fight anyway. Sonic, Blaze and Espio prepared for battle as well. "You're gonna have to get through us all, first!" Sonic said with enthusiasm.

"Interference will get you hurt…" Haku said. "But if you insist…" He then leapt back and threw his weapons. Sonic and Naruto leapt away, while Blaze warped with fire and Espio turned invisible. They all appeared in the spot behind them, and looked back at him. He was now standing in a tree in the woods. "…Then I'll be your undertaker!"

Sonic was the first to shoot out. He leapt onto a tree and proceeded to jump across others in a Triangle fashion. He then leapt up to Haku and prepared to kick him. He dashed away and appeared right behind him, delivering a kick of his own. Sonic fell over, but retaliated off the ground and leapt onto the tree, leaping back and curling into a ball. Haku blocked this and pushed the Sonic-ball away.

Blaze leapt onto a single tree branch and looked out at Haku. She held her hand out with her fingers clenched, and then before Haku could blink, she snapped them. This caused the branch to crackle before exploding into a small engulfment of flames. Haku leapt off before he could be burned and attempted to throw needles at her. She snapped her fingers again, and this time, she dashed off in a spark of fire. Haku tried to locate her, but heard another snap before his branch platform exploded again. He leapt away and held his hand out to the puddle he appeared from.

The water levitated from its spot and appeared in Haku's hands, spinning in his palm. He closed his eyes and stood in place. He heard the snap, leapt from the branch and threw the water in that direction. In a straight shot, Blaze was hit by the water ball and fell from the branch. She was veiled in the tree leaves, using her fire to conceal herself. She rebounded from the ground and concentrated fire into her hands. She thrust her palm out, but Haku dodged and covered his hands with water. The traded blows of arm thrusts, which were blocked again and again, until Haku pressed his palm to her forehead and Blaze pressed hers to his chest. They fell back, and shook off their injuries.

Haku blinked when he heard another noise from behind him. A kunai was coming in his direction, which he quickly rolled to avoid. Haku then took another listen to find its source. "If I was able to locate the Cat girl, what makes you think you're any different?" The kunai was shot, and Haku shot two needles: One to cancel the kunai, and the other to pierce its owner. However, it stuck to a tree. Suddenly a voice came from the opposing direction, "Because I too am skilled in the Ninja way." Espio appeared from the trees in that spot and took a pose, one leg up and both arms in air.

"**Dynamic Entry**!" He pounced down to Haku to kick him, but he blocked it with his arms. He was still forced back by the technique, though. Espio landed and Sonic appeared aside him.

"What else are you learning from the Village?" Sonic queried.

"Allow me to demonstrate." Espio said, returning to invisibility.

Haku recovered by sliding his feet across the ground. Then, Espio appeared from the shadows and threw his fingers together. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu**!" He made five copies of himself and threw out to Haku, each one drawing a kunai. Haku leapt back, only to be caught behind by a clone, kicking him in the back, another one kicking him up, and another leaping up and drawing his Kunai in both hands. He brought it down as if to stab him, but in a very awkward place…

"**Thousand Years of Death**!"

Everyone stared in shock, astonishment and disdain, as he stabbed Haku in his rear. This irritated Haku quite a bit.

"Sheesh…" Sonic groaned. "No wonder Chapter Seven didn't get any reviews…"

Haku glared at him, and a whip of water came from the puddle and smacked Espio and the kunai away. At that, the shadow clones were gone. He landed back on his feet, and stood out at Naruto, who stood and glared at him, drawing shuriken from his fingers and throwing them out at Haku. Haku leapt before they could hit him, and threw needles at him, which hit right on the mark.

"POOF!" The shadow clone disappeared and Five Narutos appeared behind Haku. They each hit him with a punch and a kick.

"**1, 2, 3, 4,**" Each one hit him hard, knocking him further into the air. Then one leapt out above him and somersaulted with his leg thrust forward.

"**5**!" Then he kicked him down to the ground. "**Naruto Uzumaki Barrage**!"

Haku hit the ground with hard force and coughed out all the air he could from his lungs. The Naruto clones prepared to hit him with another punch while Haku just lay there, smiling. Sonic looked at him, and saw his hand was twitching. But upon closer inspection, it wasn't simple muscle spasms. Sonic ran out to Naruto and knocked him out of the way, knocking out his shadow clones in the process, before Naruto could have been hit by a spear of ice from the puddle.

"You gotta be more careful, man!" Sonic said. They looked back at Haku, who was tall on his feet now, and a long trail of water spiraling around him.

"You've gotten stronger, Naruto…" He said, still emotionless. "This will be more entertaining than last year…" Then, he put the mask he wore earlier back on, and brought his hands together to form signals with them. Suddenly, the trail split into several balls of water that still orbited around Haku. Another seal, and they scattered. They moved in behind Naruto and Sonic, and in front of Blaze and Espio, who were on his other side. One more signal, and it would become clear. Naruto gasped as he realized what this would mean.

"**Water Style: Crystal Ice Mirrors**!"

Then the balls of water grew solid and began to spread. They formed into large rectangles and froze up into solid ice. They were so big that they were barricaded in, save for small wall gaps, and Blaze and Espio couldn't get in, nor could Sonic and Naruto get out. Blaze threw a ball of fire at it, only for it to dissipate as it touched the wall. She growled at the thought that his Chakra must be infused into it.

"What's goin' on, here?" Sonic rhetorically asked.

"I fought him in this before." Naruto growled. "We're in for a real ride, Sonic."

"This is just like old times." Haku chuckled, as he was levitating in front of them. He moved behind himself in the direction of a mirror, and then melded into it. Haku was inside of the mirror and poised himself for attack. Naruto and Sonic prepared for a defensive as they were about to receive their onslaught.

XXXXX

"I have heard that Tsunade's strength is greater than any other." Zabuza chuckled. "I also heard that she developed it from her unique and incredible medical techniques. Tell me, how did you learn such an interesting feat?"

Shinji smirked and justly replied with, "Well, since I'll be sending you back to your grave with it, I'll tell you." He then pointed his finger up to the air. "I'm sure you remember Kakashi's **Lightning Blade** Attack. You were almost killed by it, I heard." He smirked again as his finger began sparking with electricity. It started as small sparks, but became a strong electrical current. "I know you, like all Ninja, have studied the tactic of Chakra Control. By concentrating your Chakra into a specific spot, you can perform amazing feats like walk up a tree or on water."

"I don't need a recap, kid." He scorned. "I went to school, too, you know."

"But that's how this begins." He laughed. "Kakashi and I developed Lightning-type Chakra from our father and were able to learn the Lightning Blade to that extent. However, I wasn't very good at it and wanted to improve myself. So, I tried experimenting with my skill." He clenched his fist and the electricity stopped.

"Go on."

"I have always Idolized Lady Tsunade in my childhood. I even developed a crush on her at one point." He blushed. "I was always amazed by her skills as a Medical Ninja and even more awed when she turned it into strength. Such comes down to her famous **Flying Hammer Kick**." He closed his eyes and suddenly the sparks began to trickle from his left leg. They grew even further as electricity sparkled from it. "I continuously persevered myself to combine these techniques so I could stand a chance in battle as well."

"Whatever." Zabuza scoffed. "How do you think its going to stop me?"

"You haven't noticed yet?" Shinji scoffed. He lifted his finger up and invoked "**Current**!" Suddenly, the large crater he made before began coursing with electricity, while Zabuza, still standing within it, was caught in the surge before he could notice. He groaned as his body quickly went numb, and knelt down, sword still in hand. Shinji leapt into the air and prepared to lower his leg down on Zabuza like a battleaxe.

"I call it **Cyclone Kick**!" As he reached the ground, a loud explosion was heard.

XXXXX

Sonic and Naruto stared down at the mirror that Haku melded himself into. The stare-down had gone for at least a minute as Sonic and Naruto were boxed in by the numerous mirrors. The only noise that was heard was the sound of Naruto gulping. Haku finally broke the procrastination by drawing three needles between his fingers and shooting them out at his opponents, who didn't hesitate to leap out of the way. The needles sped on until it phased _through_ the ice, surprising Naruto and Sonic. That wasn't as surprising as another image of Haku appearing on the mirror, holding the needles that came through. Naruto looked back, and Haku was still in that mirror as well. In fact, four images of him were among the dome. Sonic assumed this must be the "**Water Clone Jutsu**" that Kisame had used before.

"This just went from bad to worse, buddy." Sonic grunted. Naruto gulped in response.

"Now it is my turn," Haku coped, "to give back what you gave me." On that, all the mirror images held needles within their fingers. The two gasped when they knew all too well what was coming next. Almost instantly, they tossed their needles at the two. They leapt as fast they could to dodge, but the needles were as fast as they were. They could only manage to dodge a few, but those that hit were plain to see as they stuck out of their bodies while blood spurted from them on contact. Naruto and Sonic grunted in pain.

"This isn't good." Espio urged from the outside. "We have to help them."

"How can we?" Blaze worried, "The only way through the walls are too narrow for us to enter!" She tried to burn through it again by clawing at it with her fiery fingers, knowing it to be futile. "And the kid must have his Chakra fused into the ice. I can't burn it!"

"This is _really_ bad…" Espio grunted.

"I agree." Haku said insidiously, catching the two's attention as he phased onto the mirror to look straight at them as well. "You're only making it worse for yourself, you know." Then he pulled out more needles from his fingers, and more clones appeared aside him and did the same.

Blaze looked inside and saw that Sonic and Naruto were still fighting for their lives as they were becoming living pincushions.

"You can battle inside _and_ out." Espio shuddered. "This is unreal."

"You have no idea." He replied before throwing more needles at the two.

Back inside, Naruto retaliated by throwing kunai at the mirrors, not alone, but with the assistance of his Shadow Clones. The mirrors were too strong to break from a simple kunai toss, so the knives simply bounced off. "I don't know _why_ I thought that would work…" He obviously chided.

Sonic managed to cleave several needles off himself through **Spin Dash**, which he still used to attempt to shatter the ice through sheer force. As he rolled onto the mirrors at light speed, he drilled onto them with the dash, hoping the dash to be strong enough to eventually shatter them. He repeated this as he jumped from mirror to mirror, hoping enough collective spins would eventually break the ice. However, just as he was about to drill onto another, a leg phased through the mirror and violently kicked him off, breaking his concentration and his Spin Dash.

Naruto and his clones brought out their right arms, palm up, and summoned more clones aside them to form energy into their palms. The concentrated Chakra formed spiraling balls, and the clones that formed them disappeared. The ones that held them leapt out to the mirrors Haku was within and charged out a "**Rasengan**" onto the mirrors, but just before it could hit, Haku walked aside to another mirror. Naruto grinned and somersaulted off the mirror and onto another where Haku phased into. This caught him off guard and Haku was pelted in the stomach by a powerful Rasengan, damaging him enough to break the mirror. This was the same case for the other clones.

Naruto leapt off and landed aside Sonic. "All right!" He said. "Way to go, Naruto!" Naruto chuckled in thanks, as Blaze and Espio rushed in to assist. "Are you all right?" Blaze asked. Naruto nodded, and held his hands behind his head. "Ah, it was no problem. Believe it!"

"This was quite a predicament." Espio sighed. "We'd better go report back to Shinji."

"We can't do that, yet." Sonic replied, looking at the remaining mirrors still standing. The Jutsu was still in effect and Haku still had to be defeated. "We're not quite out of the woods."

"Nor will you ever be." The voice stated as more water balls levitated to the spots Blaze and Espio entered and formed more mirrors. Haku's image appeared yet again, only this time; it was in a single mirror.

"I'm done toying with you, Naruto." He snapped. "I'm going to destroy you now." On that note, the mirrors began to melt and alter in shape. They formed into cylindrical shapes pointing at the group, but the front sides began to slim into points; Very sharp and distinct points. Haku phased from above the icicles and stood in midair above a unique new ability that Naruto didn't know he could do.

"**Water Style: Acupuncture of Death**!"

"This is unfortunate." Espio gulped.

"There is one way out." Naruto said, reaching into his pocket. Sonic was quite surprised when he saw Naruto pull the green Chaos Emerald from it. Naruto held the Emerald into the air and began coursing his Chakra into his hand. Haku, despite wearing his mask, seemed to show a look of confusion. Naruto charged his energy into the Emerald and shouted out to strengthen his energy. They were all quite surprised, while Sonic was rather worried.

"**Chaos Control**!"

A wide display of energy was waving and spiraling around Naruto. It looked a lot like the Red Chakra within his body. It spread out in a wide range around himself, Sonic, Blaze and Espio, but as it shrunk, it didn't envelop the group, but instead, Naruto began to shriek in pain.

"Naruto!" Sonic called out, horrified at the result.

XXXXX

"This…is unreal…" Shinji slowly said as he was lying on the ground, paralyzed from his massive use of Chakra. He could only stare up at Zabuza, who astonishingly did not have a scratch, bruise or burn on him. "My technique hit right on the mark…But you're still standing…?"

"You can't touch me, kid." Zabuza sinisterly giggled. "You can't kill a demon."

Shinji could only grunt in pain as Zabuza proceeded to lift his sword and drop it down on him like the guillotine that it was. "Say good night, kid."

However, as he prepared to hammer it down on him, several snakes jetted up from the ground and coiled themselves around Zabuza, hissing in his face in the process. "What?!" He gasped. "What's going on here?"

From midair, in front of the incapacitated Shinji, arrived Anko, who brought her fingers to her face, blowing "**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu**!" onto the snakes, setting them on fire, and Zabuza along with them. They continued to burn like a bonfire until the snakes were nothing more than the skin they shed just before the attack. However, the fire ceased, revealing a burnt crispy wooden stump. "Dammit." Anko cursed. "He got away." She walked over to Shinji, tapped her fingers onto his chest and invoked "**Release**." Shinji was instantly able to stand up after that. He proceeded to brush the dirt off his sleeves, and then he turned to Anko.

"You were right." He said. "My strongest electrical attack wasn't able to kill him."

"Well, now we know for sure that _he's_ behind these ghost sightings." Anko confirmed.

"C'mon." Shinji crossed. "We'd better head back to Tazuna's house. I'm sure the rest of our backup crew brought everyone else there by now."

XXXXX

Naruto was down on his knees as the pain the fox felt was too much for him to handle. His eyes were squinted shut, his teeth were clenched and he couldn't move, knowing it would hurt to do so. Sonic, Blaze and Espio were huddled around him, trying to comfort him, but failing miserably.

"Crap!" Sonic freaked out. "I should never have let you off without practice! I'm a horrible teacher and I'm so sorry!"

"Don't… worry… about it…" Naruto grunted, still hurting. "No one could have… prepared for… this…"

"Are you done entertaining me?" Haku mocked, finally readying to lower his stockade onto the group. "Then let's get on with this." Haku raised his hand as if preparing a Military Hand Signal. Just as he was about to give the command, he saw a quick, bright flash within the trees. It was bright enough to break his focus for a little while. He prepared to lower his arm yet again, only this time, something caught him off guard for a longer set time.

Before he knew it, sprouts grew up from the ground, turning into vines that continued to move along its current and envelop Haku. He gasped a little as the vines tangled him and connected together to form a giant beanstalk. From its top, a bud sprouted and grew itself to curl into Haku's face. A vine leaf grew from the bud's side to remove Haku's mask, revealing his confused face. It bloomed into a beautiful flower that spat pollen into his face. He didn't see it coming and could only cough for five seconds before slowly falling into a deep slumber.

Haku slept within the puddle of his own Ninjutsu water as Sonic, Blaze, Espio and Kurenai looked down onto him. Naruto was asleep in Kurenai's arms, his pain knocking him out cold.

"That Genjutsu of yours sure comes in handy." Sonic nodded.

"We'd better head to the bridge builder's house." Kurenai confirmed, getting a nod from everyone else in reply. They all ran off, leaving Haku to suffer his mental trap.

XXXXX

"Man, are you guys slow." Shikamaru mocked, as he stood in front of Choji and Ino stood upon the tied-up restaurant chefs, who were knocked out cold by their own utensils, as signified by the massive bumps on their heads. "Asuma got here _after_ we took care of these guys."

"Well, we didn't have it quite so easy, you know." Blaze scoffed.

"Well," Shinji spoke, "it's best we discuss the truth in this whole matter." He turned his head to Anko, who spoke with: "This is Orochimaru's doing." Everyone, save for Asuma, Kurenai and Shinji, widened their eyes at this.

"There are several kinds of Ninjutsu in the world." She explained. "It's his goal to experiment in order to uncover them all. Among them, he found a dark technique that is forbidden in the Ninja World:"

"The Reanimation Summoning Jutsu." Everyone gasped. "This technique is capable of reviving the dead. Be it loved ones or enemies, he can bring them back… though it requires sacrifices…"

"The people who were killed in the process of these ghost sightings," Shinji continued, "were used as said sacrifices. This part is just a guess, but I'd have to assume there's a specific reason that they're attacking during the festival."

"What reason is that?" Tazuna asked, tipsy out of fear and intoxication.

"They must want to kill Naruto on Orochimaru's behalf."

"Why Naruto?" Ino asked. "What's so special about him that everyone's out to get him?"

"That is uncertain," Shinji lied, "but one thing is for sure, we must handle this situation so that this village can live in peace again."

"If Orochimaru didn't want anyone to let on about the truth," Shikamaru chided, glancing the chefs, "he should've picked some better cronies."

"Well he didn't do a good enough job of keeping secrets." Choji mocked. "Makes you wonder why he's a Sannin."

"Sonic." Blaze asked, luring him over to ask in private. "Why did you try to teach Naruto Chaos Control?"

"Because his power is able to defeat Metal Sonic." He replied. "If he learns to control that power, he'll actually be able to stand a decent chance."

"But you should have known he wouldn't be ready to take on such a great power in the face of death." She scolded. "I know you want to protect him, but you're not thinking this through."

"You want to help Silver restore his future, don't you?" He shot back, making her look aside in a compassionate way. "Wouldn't you do the same thing for him?"

"It's best we assess the situation tomorrow, once we've all gotten a little shut-eye." Shinji confirmed.

Shikamaru glanced at Naruto, who was sound asleep, still recovering from his brutal flaw. "Look at him sleep while there's so much at stake here." He thought, then moaned. "What a drag."


	22. Mist Rising

Chapter 22: Mist Rising

"Help me, Naruto…" a voice called out to him. "What?" he replied?

"You must… realize your dream…" it continued to speak. "…You must… not feel… unnecessary… Save me… from…"

The voice ceased as Naruto continued to float around the dark abyss that was his childhood solitude. He wondered what happened as he began to close his eyes. "The feeling… of being all alone… It hurts… so… much…" As darkness began to envelop him, he clutched his hand. "Haku… I will save you… but… from whom?"

"…uto…" another voice spoke. "Na… to… up…" Upon hearing it, he began to open his eyes. "Naruto, wake up."

XXXXX

"Jeez," Shikamaru said, "You really make such a fuss even when you're sleeping." Naruto opened his eyes to see Shikamaru, Sonic, Ino, Choji, Blaze and Espio above him, looking down at him, waiting for him to wake up. "Can you move?" Sonic asked.

"Yea…" he said, rather weakly. "I feel OK."

"Good." Blaze confirmed. "There's a lot that you need to catch up on."

"**WHAAAAAT?????!!!!! You can't be serious!**" was Naruto's reaction to hearing the entire story of Orochimaru, his deadly forbidden Jutsu and how it has affected the Hidden Mist Village. The others' reaction to his reaction was much more subtle, if not teeth-clenching.

"Holy crap, do you_always_ have to be so freakin' loud and annoying this early in the morning?!" Shikamaru groaned.

"Yea, Naruto. Chill out!" Ino agreed. "People are still sleeping."

"Not for long they aren't." Espio replied, glancing out at the window. He managed to draw everyone else's attention to the window as well.

In fact, they weren't sleeping. They had all just woken up to gather in the village square to enact in an announcement that Zabuza and Haku were about to make. They were stricken with fear at the very sight of these two. The two that all thought had died a year ago were standing before them, very much alive and in the flesh as one speaks. In fact, it was Zabuza himself who was about to.

"The Land of Waves." He said. "This land sure does bring back memories. Not very good ones, though. That guy Gato was a royal douche. Wouldn't you agree, Haku?"

"Indeed it is, Zabuza." He replied.

"But I'm afraid we cannot remain here to reminisce. For we have an order to carry out…" He stepped forward and raised his voice.

"All right, you sniveling mites, listen up!" This caused everyone to quiver further in fear, still silent. "I'm afraid we've gotta call a hit out on one of you today. One of you had better step up right here and be willing…to die." This caused everyone to scream and panic. Irritated, he formed hand seals, and the mist around them began to take greater form. It formulated into a massive body of water that floated above the audience.

"**Water Style: Curtain Call**!" At this command, the massive pool dropped onto the audience and spread around them in a massive splash. They fell silent after this.

"I'm going to ask you to not do that. Because the one I have in mind…is not within your numbers right now!" This caused them to whisper and gossip questions among themselves. "The one I have in mind is in fact someone you all know quite well. In fact, that person is why you're all having this festival. You named your beautiful monument after him." All the way back in the house of the bridge builder's house, a certain Knuckleheaded Ninja widened his eyes at who he's talking about. His companions glanced over at him with worry.

"Naruto Uzumaki! Your execution begins now!"

The crowd began to panic, but by whispering more questions and comments to each other. This annoyed Zabuza, but not as much as the fact that the one he called out was not stepping up. But why would he? If his execution was declared, he would not step up so willingly just like that.

"Very well, then." Zabuza sighed. "If that's the case, kid…" He looked over at Haku, who formed a seal with his hand, causing the water that doused the villagers to harden and freeze at their wrists, intimidating them slightly. "Then how about I cut down these simple country folk one by one until you show up? Would you like that?! I know you can't stand to see people in danger." Haku then twitched his finger, causing the water to pull their wrists toward the pedestal. They tried to fight it, but Haku's control over water was just too strong.

"I can't believe that guy!" Naruto grunted, pounding his fist to the wall. "To go this far, just to draw me out!"

"We gotta help those people!" Choji exclaimed.

"A Ninja puts himself on the line before his people." Shinji remarked. "We're going to have to take them on again."

"There's no possible way to beat them." Blaze commented. "If they are really just undead soldiers, then my fire should easily work, but their mastery of water is just too great."

"There has to be a way to beat them somehow…" Shikamaru said.

"There is one way." Sonic said, glancing at Naruto. "But it'll be difficult…"

XXXXX

Haku was slowly dragging people one by one onto the pedestal he and Zabuza stood upon, with his master prepared to slice them up like a holiday ham. The first forced to step up was a small girl with brown hair and blue eyes. One woman back in the audience screamed out and nearly cried. This must've been her mother. The little girl looked up at the man to see that he was staring down coldly at her, as though humanity was no longer within him. She began to tear, knowing what was coming. Zabuza slowly brought his guillotine sword down and prepared to enact his sweet, sweet bloodshed… but then his body went stiff. In fact, he was even forced to drop his sword behind him.

"What… is this?!" He growled. Haku was frozen into the same position, forcing him to undo the Jutsu. The little girl looked over behind the two to see a Chunin Ninja, holding them down by controlling his shadow.

"Hope we're not too late to crash the party." Shikamaru chided.

"Why you little…" Zabuza hissed. He was prepared to strangle him, until he heard two loud screaming noises from both his and Haku's sides. From one side, there was the very same knucklehead he called out, and on the other was some kind of blue rat. They tried to break free, but Shikamaru's shadow was too strong. Just as their feet were about to make contact with their faces, Shikamaru released the Jutsu just in time and Naruto and Sonic hit them hard with the soles of their shoes. It was so strong, in fact that they collapsed to the ground.

Naruto, upon landing shouted, "What're you all standing around here for?! Go find a safe place!"

They did not hesitate and proceeded to do just that as Choji and Ino guided them along. Blaze and Espio waved guided others and the four looked back over to the pedestal. They rushed over to help their comrades, who were about to face the two assassins, now standing tall.

"What little pests…" Zabuza snickered. "…I like to cut down pests."

"This guy's a psychopath." Ino stammered. "It's like he has no emotions whatsoever."

"That's because they were stolen." Blaze commented, pointing over to Zabuza. She saw that his eyes' irises were completely blank. Neither the pupil, nor the catch light was visible in them. "I don't think that's a usual look for one's eyes. These bodies are obviously being controlled by Orochimaru."

"Yeah…" Shikamaru commented. "That guy's a sick freak, I noticed. He'll use any kind of trick to lure people to his side, only to break them down when he's done with them just to help himself."

"That is true." Haku spoke. "We were revived for the sole purpose of completing our task for Orochimaru, and then we have no use left." Haku pulled a small puddle of water up to his palm and enveloped his hand with it, hardening it until it became a sharp icicle dagger. "For your own sake, Naruto Uzumaki, you must die. And you pesky interlopers will share in this fate."

Then, Haku rushed out to his opponents and prepared to slice them. However, they all retaliated by pulling out a kunai knife, except Blaze, who ignited her hands with fire, and Sonic, who was not a weapon type. He flailed his ice blade about as they countered with their respective weapons, and Sonic either dodged or guarded with his metal-rimmed shoes.

Zabuza prepared to raise his sword to cut down Haku's opponents in a sneak attack, but as he brought it down, it clashed with another metal object. It was a sword, smaller, but still strong. A Longsword, to be precise, that belonged to the very same punk that fought him before.

"Don't you know when your partner should fight their own battles?" Shinji retorted.

"My common sense was removed from me…" Zabuza snickered as he heaved his sword to combat his new adversary.

XXXXX

Haku continued to lash out at his opponents with his icicle dagger. His opponents equally continued to block with their respective weapons. As this cycle of attack and retaliation moved on, Haku insisted on attacking, while the retaliators started to show mild signs of fatigue. Blaze leapt back and threw balls of fire at Haku, only for him to reflect them off his weapon. He was also quick on his feet, as he was easily able to avoid "**Shadow Possession**" and "**Partial Expansion**". Though he wasn't nearly fast enough to keep up with Sonic, he could still defend at a compatible pace. Naruto consistently summoned Shadow Clones to attack him, but they were gone nearly the second they were summoned. Espio's invisibility and Ino's Mind Control didn't seem to faze him either, as they were easily counterattacked and just as easily detectable any further times. Before long, nearly everybody was on the ropes. Haku stood there, still unexhausted, across Naruto and Sonic, who were sweating like storm clouds.

"I'm astonished how easy this is." Haku chided. "I'm not even breaking a sweat."

"It's not like you can!" Sonic scoffed. "The dead really only know their mission to kill, right? Anything else isn't necessary: Feelings, bodily functions, It's all just a blank."

"I guess our secret has been unveiled." He replied. "I was going to make your death swift and painless, but now, your agony is imminent."

"Shut up!" Naruto barked as he ran out and summoned even more Shadow Clones. He leapt out at Haku, only for him to wave his icy arm, and increase the length of the blade, cutting through the clones, and spreading blood from a great scar on Naruto's stomach. He fell back in an instant and placed his hand on the wound, only for it to stain on his palm.

"I'll start with you, Naruto." Haku began, "Since you're so eager to scrap."

"I'm still here, y'know!" Sonic said he rushed out to his adversary, only for him to place his palm out, followed by Sonic to suddenly stop to his body slowly freezing, enveloping his body so he couldn't even move an inch.

"Manipulation of the mist." Haku stated. "You should take that to heart once in a while." He walked back to Naruto and increased the length of his sword. Naruto tried to stand, but his wound was too painful to ignore. He looked at the blood on his palm for a second and blinked before forming hand signs while his foe stood right in front of him.

"Any more Jutsu is superfluous." He raised his sword. "Get ready to…"

"**SUMMONING JUTSU**!"

After a great explosion of smoke appeared, Haku leapt back to avoid the impact. He tried intently to visualize what it was, only for a long sword to dash out to him, trying to stab him. Haku tried to retaliate with his ice, but it shattered the second it impacted. He was pushed back by the great force of the sword's wielder, knocking him into the air and onto his back, as well as shattering Sonic's ice coating and heaving him onto its back.

"I guess it's finally my turn to shine." said the savior in a feminine voice. It took the form of a large, slightly over human-sized frog that donned a similar outfit to the larger Gamabunta, only wearing a large ribbon around its waist, plated shoulder guards and similar guards on its forearms; it had makeup on its face. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gamayue. I am sure you have met my father, Gamabunta and brothers, Gamakichi and Gamatatsu." She said to Naruto and Sonic on her back.

"I rarely see the Chief when I try to summon him." Naruto remarked rather disdainfully.

"One opponent smaller than him?" She sarcastically asked, "I don't think he'd be happy battling such an opponent."

"She's got a point." Sonic nodded, earning a 'really, I couldn't tell' look.

"Well…better you than your brothers, actually…" Naruto sighed.

As Haku attempted to get back up, she prepared her sword again and chuckled. "Allow me to show you what I can do." Then she lunged forward in a great leap and attempted to slash Haku again.

XXXXX

Though Shinji's slender sword was not nearly a match for Zabuza's monstrosity, it was unbelievably durable and able to hold out for a great eternity, since it was crafted so well. Zabuza consistently heaved his massive sword down, but it wasn't able to stand out to Shinji's youthful agility. As he leapt about around his opponent, he was able to take advantage of this situation to attack his back. Though he was able to cut through his deceased flesh, he felt no agony, and furthermore, his skin mended itself back into place until his back was looking completely unharmed.

"That's disgusting." Shinji scoffed.

"But it's efficient." At this remark, Zabuza heaved his sword around in a spiraling motion. Shinji leapt high above his opponent and prepared to slash him again. However, Zabuza reacted and brought his sword above to link it with Shinji's. As this happened, Shinji flipped onto the tip of the sword and leapt back above. This time, he threw a few kunai out to him. Zabuza heaved his sword again to reflect them off, but didn't count on tags to stick to his sword, and then ignite after that. He barely had time to react when the tags exploded on his sword. It hadn't affected Zabuza much, but his body was slightly damaged and his sword was cracked slightly from the blast's impact.

"My sword…" He growled. "That was a mistake."

"Explosive Post-its." Shinji stated as he landed in front of his opponent. "They go off the second they stick to their target."

"How 'bout if I stick my sword right down your-" Before he could finish, he found his body unable to move. He angered in realization. "Not again…"

"Some people _really_ hate to lose." Shikamaru said, holding Zabuza in "**Shadow Possession Jutsu**" from behind him.

"I'm gonna make you all trophies!" He snarled as he struggled to break free. Shikamaru attempted to up the ante with "**Shadow Strangle**" but couldn't go with the effort as Zabuza's arms barely stretched out. He canceled the Jutsu.

"Get ready to-" He was cut off yet again as he felt a great jolt in his head. He struggled as he brought his fist up to his face and brought it back. He tried to fight it, but soon enough, he found himself punching himself relentlessly.

"Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!" Ino repeated playfully as she held a hand sign and enacted "**Mind Destroy Jutsu**."

"I'm… no… one's… Puppet!!" He angered.

"How bout a punching bag, then?!" Choji called out as he hoisted his massive "**Partial Expansion Jutsu**" fist in the air. He quickly brought it out to Zabuza's face and punched it with massive force. It was enough to knock him back, but also to cancel Ino's Jutsu.

"You'll regret that!" He shouted. Just as he tried to rush out to his enemies, he felt something hit the back of his head. He looked back, only to get a similar result. This process repeated five times until he felt six spikes drive into his back. They were indeed kunai. He couldn't feel pain, but he did hear the sizzling as the notes attached to the knives prepared to detonate. A large blast hit him again, enough force to knock him to the floor.

Espio appeared aside Ino and struck a pose. "You should meditate more." He said.

Blaze leapt out to the fallen Zabuza and looked down on him as his repairing body attempted to rise again. All it took was a snap of her fingers to set him ablaze. He actually felt pain this time, growling in anger and agony. She held her hand out to burn him further.

"The dead don't like fire, right?" Blaze mocked.

"Now that that's done," Shinji remarked, "Naruto and Sonic have gotta finish the rest."

"I can only hope they're more subtle with the kid…" Blaze nerved.

XXXXX

Gamayue was having no small task in tearing up Haku in more ways than one. As his body repaired itself he rushed over to the frog to try and fight back.

"I guess it's not enough to just cut away at you, huh?" She smirked as she leapt back, took a deep breath and formed a hand sign to shoot "**Water Style: Liquid Bullet**!" Even though water was his specialty, his deteriorating body was in no shape to combat the massive water balls. They were strong enough to force him back even further than he was when he tried to rush back out to her.

"Wow…" Naruto awed. "It's like I'm riding a miniature chief."

"Thanks." Yue replied both sarcastically and sincerely. "That really warms my heart."

"Don't completely destroy him." Sonic suggested. "We need to get close to him to perform… a unique trick." He glanced over to Naruto, who reacted to what Sonic wanted.

"I can't do that!" Naruto hesitated. "You remember what happened last time!"

"Think of how you trained to use the Rasengan!" Sonic instructed. "And take advantage of your small body."

Naruto glared slightly at Sonic, but decided to take his friend's words to heart.

Haku consistently tried to rush out to Gamayue, only to get pushed right back. This was beginning to annoy her slightly.

"This guy just won't quit." She grunted. "I guess I have to use the heavy artillery." She prepared a hand seal. "I'm going to make oil. I need one of you to ignite it."

"What did I just say?!" Sonic responded.

"I'm not going to make that big an effort." She replied. "Just enough for one more ball. You ready?"

Naruto, wrapping a kunai with an exploding tag said "Yeah."

As Haku leapt out, she took a deep breath. "**Toad Flame Bullet**!" Once she shot the ball, Naruto threw the kunai to the mass of oil, turning it into a flaming comet. Haku had no time to react as he had become a one-man inferno and plummeted back to the ground. Naruto leapt off of Yue with the Chaos Emerald in hand, landing right in front of Haku. Sonic and Gamayue stood a good ten meters away from them.

Haku struggled to get back up, but the pain was too much and the fire burned away at his undead flesh. "I underestimated you, Naruto…" He whispered. "Well done."

"You're…Orochimaru's prisoner…" Naruto said, "…aren't you?"

Haku gasped slightly in reaction to this, then lowered his eyes back to the ground. "You are correct." He whispred regretfully. "He… took away my free will…" He said. "I am… unable to feel… remorse… or anger… or happiness… or sorrow… All I can feel… is hatred…. It pains me, because I hate feeling this way…"

"You grew up… alone, right?" Naruto asked, whole-heartedly. Haku opened his eyes and looked back up to him. "You told me… that your abilities were feared… and hated… you were never accepted by anybody as a child… right?" Haku gently nodded.

"I understand your pain better than anybody." Naruto said, placing a hand to his chest and leaking tears from his eyes. "I have a monster inside of me… and I was feared and hated because of it… Nobody would accept me… I had no family… no friends… I was… all alone…"

As the fire completely cleared and Haku's body began to decompose, Naruto leaned over and held Haku's tearing face up to look at his. "You found someone… Someone who was willing to accept your power… no matter how much it scared people. I found people, too. They don't know of my abilities… but it's better that way… They accept me… for who I am… My friends are precious to me... I will protect them no matter what."

On this, he began thinking of Iruka, then Sakura and Sasuke, then Kakashi-Sensei, the Third Hokage, the members of Teams 8, 10 and Guy, Gaara, Tsunade and everyone in the Leaf village. Naruto looked in sorrow as Sasuke began walking away. He closed his eyes and showed great remorse. But he opened his eyes as Sonic placed his hand upon his shoulder, Followed by Tails, Knuckles, Chris, Amy, Cream and Cheese, Big, Silver, Blaze, Emerl and even the Chaotix. Shadow stood in presence, too, and smiled only slightly. Naruto looked back to the horizon as Haku, fully healed and in complete form walked up to Naruto and placed his hand out to him, gesturing him to shake it. Naruto placed his hand out and with full heart, he did. It began to snow as Naruto looked upon his wide sea of friends, which at first was completely empty. Naruto closed his eyes, cried and smiled.

Naruto opened his eyes to see that Haku, despite losing his body almost completely, was also crying and smiling. "Thank you, Naruto…" he said. "All I've ever wanted… was for someone… to understand… I owe my life to you…"

Naruto stood back up and pointed his Chaos Emerald out to Haku. "Then allow me to set it free." He closed his eyes and began coursing his Chakra into his hand. He focused intently as a spiraling flow of Chakra around his hand turned red. He took a deep breath and called out:

"**CHAOS CONTROL**!!!"

The flow of Chakra spread around his body and enveloped Naruto. He focused his Chakra as well as the Chaos Emerald's power out to Haku. Before long, the energy enveloped Haku as well and began absorbing Haku's chakra into the Chaos Emerald, and with it, his soul and spirit. As this went on, Naruto closed his eyes once more and cried yet again, mouthing: "Goodbye." Once the absorption was complete, Naruto pointed the Emerald to the sky and released Haku's spirit from the Emerald and to the great beyond.

Naruto took one last look at Haku's body and saw it fade out and crumple into dust. He looked down at it intently as it blew away with the wind. Sonic walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Smile." He said. "Just like he was." They looked out to the sky and smiled.

"My father was right to make you his apprentice." Gamayue thought. "I sense much promise in you, such kindness and heart. Plus, the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox is quite unusual. To use it combined with that gem to absorb the soul from an tortured individual... Surely you will be able to make an even greater Hokage…than your father before you." She closed her eyes and smiled before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

XXXXX

Naruto and Sonic stood center stage on the same pedestal in the morning as the Hidden Mist Village hailed the two like the heroes they are. Team 10, Shinji-Sensei as well as Blaze and Espio stood behind the two, still receiving credit, yet not as much as the two they fought alongside.

The same little girl who Naruto saved from what was to be the first relay execution walked up the pedestal and stood in front of him. "Thank you for saving me." As Naruto knelt down and smiled, she kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush.

"That's kind of unfair." Shikamaru groaned. "I set the Shadow Possession before she was killed and yet he steals my thunder…what a real drag…"

"I still think naming the bridge directly after him is kinda dumb." Ino sighed. "I mean, sure, he's got real heart, but a direct honor is kind of clichéd."

"Well," Choji said. "Naruto never asks to be rewarded for all this trouble. It's all part of being a good ninja."

"All's well that ends well, right?" Espio commented.

"Not nearly." Blaze crossed. "We still haven't come any closer to another Chaos Emerald."

"If there's one thing working with Vector and Charmy taught me, it's to let loose and live a little."

"You mean those two don't annoy you?"

"Who said that? Not me."

"But nonetheless," He continued, "Why would Orochimaru command two individuals to kill Naruto?"

"Metal Sonic wants the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox..." Blaze thought aloud, "I know that much... I heard he impersonated the Sannin back in the Land of Rain. Would he try to kill Naruto... to protect him?"

"That's completely unlike him..." Espio puzzled. "But I know exactly who to ask about this..."

"Well, everyone," Shinji said, with his arms crossed and smiling. "I guess that wraps up this mission." He turned around and headed towards the bridge. "Let's head home and report to the Lady Hokage."

"Yea." Sonic said. "We've still got two more Emeralds to find."

"Plus, I could _really_ go for some Ramen right now." Naruto chuckled, patting his growling stomach.

As they walked out on the horizon, Shinji looked up to the sky and smiled yet again.

"The sins of Orochimaru have been cleansed for now." He thought. "Your mark has been rekindled here, brother. Now all that's left is to ensure the safety of your old student. But fear not. I know, and you know that Naruto can pull it off."


	23. Looking in the Wrong Place

Chapter 23: Looking in the Wrong Place

"Oh, Sonic! Isn't this fabulous?" Amy swooned as they walked down the road.

Over time, Sonic felt that the next of their missions should be devoted to searching for the Chaos Emeralds. Time was growing short for them as Metal Sonic grew closer to his reawakening. Sonic, however, did not know the first place to look, so they had to search anywhere they can. Their next mission administered by Tsunade was to investigate a Carnival that had set up in a local border down the road. Amy, Naruto and Team 8 couldn't run as fast as Sonic, so he had to deal with walking, since the entirety was a team effort.

"Don't get your bow tied in a knot, Amy." Sonic groaned. "We're on a mission, you know."

"Yes, Sonic, but we're on a mission to a Carnival," Amy smartly replied, "and Lady Tsunade even said to 'have fun' while we were there."

"She has a point, Sonic." Naruto chuckled. "Just let loose a little."

"Letting loose is what I normally do best." Sonic replied. "But not when our biggest enemy could rise up and take over at any time!"

"You're just being a drama queen." Kiba chided. "If he does come out, then we'll be prepared for it." Akamaru barked in agreement.

"But the point of us all being prepared is to be so with all seven Chaos Emeralds in hand." Shino lectured. "If we don't make haste, we won't be prepared."

"But still, even heroes need a break." Kiba laughed.

"I wouldn't exactly call you a hero, Kiba." Hinata giggled.

"Just whose side are you on, anyway?"

"Well, nonetheless," Naruto agreed, "I agree with Sonic and Shino. It's best we don't stand around while that guy could come back fairly soon. I say we should all hoof it until we get there."

"Yes," Hinata smiled. "Let's."

On that, Sonic scooped Amy into his arms and began to move at his usual favorite pace. Naruto, Hinata and Shino followed after. Kiba stood there, dumbfounded.

"How's that fair?" He moaned. "Just a minute ago, he said to let loose, too. Man, I really hate bum deals, don't you Akamaru... Akamaru?" His jaw dropped when he saw Akamaru running at the same pace following after the group. He ducked his head over and finally gave up. He followed after, picked up Akamaru and continued on.

XXXXX

"Wow…" Amy awed as she saw the massive sign mounted up to represent the Carnival. She looked up and read the sign overhead. "KAMIKI FESTIVAL: Good times ahead." She squeaked in excitement. "Ooohh, this is gonna be so much fun! I can already picture what it's gonna be like!"

"We're here to investigate, remember?" Sonic groaned. "But still, that sign does look tantalizing."

"Well, no other way but in, right?" Naruto grinned. "Let's go!"

As they walked toward the entrance, the man at the Ticket Booth popped up to his post and gave an absolutely intimidating joyous greeting.

"Well, hello there!" He said. "Welcome to Kamiki Festival, where the fun just doesn't stop! How can I help you?"

"We're Terrorists here to bomb your setup here." Sonic sarcastically answered. "What does it look like we're here for? We're gonna enjoy the fair!"

"Well, aren't you quite the comedian." He guffawed. "Well, you've got an interesting little costume there. But for a few minors like you, that'll be a Thousand Ryo each!"

"Great…" Sonic mumbled. "Well, get your wallets, guys."

"Oh. My. God. Sonic." Amy stared at the other sign that was just at the side of the Ticket salesman. "Is that sign true? Do cute couples really get in free?"

"Why yesss!" He replied with enthusiasm. "That's one of our biggest specials of this fun little park! Are you a cute couple?"

"Why yes, it just so happens that we are!" Amy happily replied. Sonic retorted with a quick "What?!"

"Oh that's just great! You two can come right in! Oh, and here's a Complimentary Stamp so you can come back in!" Without permission, he placed an ink stamp on the backs of Sonic and Amy's hands. "Well, let's go in, hubby!" Amy swooned. Sonic groaned and sulked as they walked through.

"And as for the rest of you…" He readied, but Naruto quickly interrupted with "Actually, she and I are a cute couple as well!" Kiba and Shino looked in astonishment, well, Shino didn't look different, and Hinata turned red as a cherry blossom at that comment.

"Well, what a co-inky-dink!" He replied. "You two can go on in as well." He stamped their hands as well, and they walked in, Naruto sighing in relief so he didn't have to pay, and Hinata, still blushing, held onto him very tightly.

"Now, to make up for lost cause…" the man said, "That'll be 6,000 Ryo!"

"WHAT?!?" Kiba blurted as Akamaru growled. "That's not fair!!!"

"You know what else isn't fair? Having to wear a bigass smile so long that it eventually sticks to you. Now pay up! Time is money, and I don't get it for having conversation!" This irritated Kiba, but not nearly as much as getting left in the dust by Naruto. As he and Shino got stamps on their hands and Akamaru on his forehead, he swore his revenge."

As they walked in, the man typed into a Computer Monitor and giggled very suspiciously.

XXXXX

"Oh, this is SOOOOO wonderful, Sonic!" Amy cheered, still clutching Sonic as he bore an 'I want to kill myself' expression on his face. "Just you and me, enjoying the fair together as one of the cutest couples of all time! Doesn't that make you oh-so happy?" She ignored the "ugh" Sonic gave in response. "Oh, what should we do first? There's a Roller Coaster, we can ride the bumper cars, or there's my personal favorite: The Tunnel of Love!"

Sonic glanced over at the throwing dart mini-game close by and thought that if he maybe stepped forward in front of the balloons, maybe the sharp end of the darts could kill him. Then, something specific about the game caught his eye. One of the prizes, in fact.

"You know what would make this moment even better?" Amy daydreamed.

"A Chaos Emerald!" Sonic shouted, ignoring her.

"Yes, that would make it better, but I was talking about winning a prize to commemorate this occasion."

"Oh, the world's gonna be happy to have _this_ prize." Sonic stated, finally catching Amy's attention. There was a Chaos Emerald placed upon the prize stand of the dart game. The yellow one, to be specific. "We just gotta win this, and then there'll be only one more to find."

"Sonic!" Amy moaned. "We were having a sweet and romantic moment! Why can't you focus on something other than our mission for just one second?"

"Oh, how fabulous!" Remarked a familiar annoying guy. "You have your sights set on this little baby, don't you?"

Sonic was completely dumbfounded to see this guy again. "How'd you change from the Ticket booth to here so fast?"

"I work plenty of shifts! It's a real drag, but it puts bread on the table."

"Great." Sonic chided. "Now set me up. I'm gonna win the crap out of this game." Sonic placed some Ryo on the man's hand and he traded that for five darts. Sonic took a good look at the five balloons he was set to pop, took steady aim. He tossed the darts with a quick flick of the wrist one by one, not even a second apart. One curved to the left, another to the right. Before even ten seconds passed, Sonic had only hit one balloon.

"WHAT?" He barked deliriously. "How could that be?"

"You rush everything, Sonic." Amy crossed, placing Ryo onto the table and getting five darts just like Sonic. She took a steady flick of her wrist, two seconds apart this time. Much to Sonic's chagrin, all five balloons were gone.

"OUR GRAND PUH-RIZE WINNER!!" The man cheered. "Here is your prize, you cute little thing!" He handed her the Chaos Emerald and she started walking off.

"Amy, that was fabulous!" Sonic complimented. "I'll take the Chaos Emerald, so let's go back to the village, now."

"I dunno…" Amy pondered. "I think I like the Emerald, so I wanna keep it."

Sonic tilted his head over in unpleasant awe. "Well, at least let's go back to the village. Metal Sonic won't wait forever, you know."

"I'm not leaving yet." She snubbed. "I'm keeping the Emerald, so what I say goes, got it?"

"C'mon, Amy. Don't be stubborn, now." he argued. "We're talking about the fate of the world here."

"The fate of the world can wait…until you lean not to rush your situations."

"The fate of the world will DIE if I don't."

"Well, that's not my problem. You're always so relaxed when you run. Why can't you relax and enjoy the fair?"

"Because I know what's at stake, here!"

"Well, this Emerald isn't going anywhere until you have fun with me. Got it?"

Sonic was about to fight it further, but grumbled as her decision stood firm. With much displeasure, he grabbed Amy's hand and started walking. "Now, let's go ride that Roller coaster." She said happily.

"This is unfortunate…" The booth man said, typing into the computer some more.

XXXXX

Naruto and Hinata were having a much smoother time at the fair. Naruto enjoyed the sights while he could. In fact, he didn't tell her about the family that he had with her in the future. I mean, who would want to hear what's in store for them, lickety-split. He may even have tried not to think about it… or just forgot. All he thought about was what he was supposed to: the mission to investigate unusual goings-on in this place.

"That guy who gave us these tickets gives me the creeps." Naruto groaned mildly.

"Yes…" Hinata squeaked, "He was rather intimidating…"

"Well, it seems like Sonic and Amy got the Chaos Emerald." Naruto shrugged, "But still, something about this place doesn't seem right."

"I-I have a suggestion…" She whispered, earning Naruto's attention, "Maybe if we go on the rides …together… we could look around for anything suspicious in the park…"

"Hey, yeah! That's a good idea!" Naruto brightened. "Thanks, Hinata! Let's go!" he confidently said as he pat Hinata on the shoulder, causing her to smile and blush only slightly before following after. They were seemingly unaware that they were being followed by their own two teammates.

"That Naruto really screwed the pooch by leaving us in the dirt like that." growled Kiba, still sore about the Ticket booth event. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"It's only 6,000 Ryo, Kiba." Shino sighed. "It's easily re-obtainable."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that anymore." Kiba chuckled. "He just completely shut us out like that, and I swear I'm gonna get him back!"

"Bark, Bark!"

"Well, at the very least, don't forget about the mission." He replied sternly.

"I know." Kiba nodded. "After all, our team with Kurenai-Sensei does specialize in tracking. If anything is up, we've got mine and Akamaru's noses and your bugs." Kiba looked out at Naruto and Hinata heading for the Spinning Tea Cup ride and said, "C'mon you two. Let's go get back at Naruto!"

"Bark, Bark!"

Shino sighed.

XXXXX

Sonic and Amy rode on the Water Log ride to partake in their "fun" time. Sonic looked out to the distance to find anything suspicious happening. It was their mission, after all. With no luck, Sonic shivered as he was intensely splashed by the flowing water the log cart pushed against. Amy cheered.

Naruto and Hinata investigated the Haunted House, sitting tightly in their cart. Naruto gasped and screamed at the sight of many Paper Mache Bats and, mechanical vampires, cardboard witches and even bed sheet ghosts, while Hinata scoured the area with **Byakugan**. Naruto held tightly onto Hinata with his eyes closed, causing her to blush intensely before passing out, yet again. Kiba, Akamaru and Shino followed close behind in the following cart, not even slightly scared, but tracking around just the same.

Sonic and Amy sat tightly as the roller coaster slowly was pulled along the chain moving up the track. Naruto and Team 8 sat there as well, all of which looked around to see if anything that would benefit their mission could help them. Sadly, no such luck came their way. As the coaster began rushing down, they all began to scream (with the exception of Shino). As they continuously looped and spun, they cheered along with it. Akamaru could only watch from the close-by bench tethered by a leash as there was a strict "No Pets on the Ride" policy that Kiba was forced to follow.

"Oh, would you look at that." A feminine voice nearby said. "Yes, someone seems to have left a cute little puppy over here." Another identical one agreed. The two mysterious figures in trench coats giggled in unison before walking over to him.

"Hello, little puppy." One of the two said, earning his attention. The other proceeded to pat him on the head, which cheered him up a little, until he took a few sniffs before growling angrily at the two. He was about to bark at them, but one of the two chopped him on the scruff of his neck, knocking him out cold.

XXXXX

"Well, that was fun." Sonic breathed heavily. Amy was enlightened to hear that, closing her eyes and smiling while giggling in response.

Naruto, who was rather dizzy from the experience, chuckled as he said, "I agree… That was pretty fun." Hinata giggled as she held him on her shoulder.

"Well now, Back to the mission." Shino silently idled. "Yea, I figured as much from the guy who made no reaction to the ride." Kiba scoffed, jokingly. "C'mon, Akamaru." He looked over to see he was no longer on the park bench that was present. He looked around furiously. "Akamaru?" No answer. "Akamaru!"

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, as he got everyone's attention.

"Akamaru's gone!" He worried, holding the empty leash.

"Well, he couldn't have run off." Naruto said, regaining enough consciousness to stand. "You two are the best of friends."

"You don't think anybody could've stolen him, do ya?" Sonic asked suspiciously.

Hinata closed her eyes and set on her "**Byakugan**!" to begin looking around. Everyone in the park seemed to have a decent amount of energy. Not a great amount of Chakra. Who would want to steal Akamaru? She continued to look around until she saw chakra running as if like a fire. She looked in for a closer look to see two figures with chakra running intensely. One of them seemed to be holding something as the other typed in a code on a computer terminal. Hinata took a closer look before seeing… a dog, sleeping in their arms.

"Over there!" Hinata said as she pointed in the direction of a Circus Tent, which, as gaudy and noticeable as it was, it was a classified area. Kiba sniffed out in their direction to see that the dog they carried was… "AKAMARU!" He shouted seeing his best friend in the clutches of some stranger.

"They have massive levels of Chakra." Hinata confirmed. One of them finally removed their hat to take a retinal scan on the computer. The other removed theirs as well. Sonic would recognize those pretty faces and opposite black-haired ponytails anywhere.

"ETA?! THETA?!" They all shouted in unison (except Shino).

"So, Eggman's involved in this theme park, huh?" Sonic said as he clenched his fist.

"He's got some nerve stealing Akamaru like that!" Amy huffed.

"How do you think he escaped prison like that?" Naruto openly wondered.

"That doesn't matter, now!" Kiba shouted. "I'm comin', boy!"

"C'mon, everyone!" Sonic said, picking up his feet. "Let's go crack that Eggman wide open!" On that mark, the team headed for the big top.

XXXXX

"I'm rather disappointed in you, Cheeky." Dr. Eggman scolded. "I gave you a strict order not to give the Chaos Emerald away as a prize to anybody!"

"I'm sorry, doctor." The Ticket voucher moaned, "I just didn't expect that pink hedgehog girl to be so good with a backhand, plus it's kind of hard not to be happy when exaggerated joy was the programming you gave me…"

"But ya still screwed up, pal!" Bokkun yelled directly into his face. "You're in no position to try and excuse yourself!"

"Just be lucky that the Doctor is a very forgiving fellow." Bocoe scolded.

"That's right!" Decoe agreed. "Or your job will end quickly _and_ surely."

"You dingbots!" Eggman shouted, "I'm supposed to be the one giving the lecture here!"

"In any case," Eta began, "we were able to escape from prison quite nicely."

"We were sure lucky," Theta continued, "that those guards in the prison were unbelievably flirty."

"But that doesn't matter."

"Because we've got their dog."

In unison: "And they'll be more than willing to trade for his safety."

"Indeed they will be, girls." Eggman agreed. "I just hope they're willing to pay the price for… defiance." He smirked as he glanced over to a dark cage, where two glowing red eyes lit up and deep growling sounded.

XXXXX

As Sonic tore down the front flap to the big top with his "**Spin Dash**" and positioned himself as everyone followed behind.

"You're much earlier than I expected." Spoke the voice they wanted to hear, coming from a private box seat high behind the bleachers.

"Well, Eggman," Amy scoffed, "It's not very hard to find a Circus tent in the middle of a carnival. Oh, and not the best idea, making it 'classified.'"

"Where's Akamaru?" Kiba asked very sternly.

"Well, you sure are impatient." Eggman frowned. He snapped his fingers, signaling Eta and Theta to enter the room, holding Akamaru in the one place Kiba would _never_ want to put him.

"Is… Is he in a _CAGE_?!" He snarled. As Eggman chuckled sinisterly, that really pushed Kiba's buttons, as he took no hesitation to form his hands together for "**Tunneling Fang**!" Leaping out and drilling intensely to the bleachers.

"I wouldn't have tried that if I were you." Eggman scoffed, as he pulled out a small cylindrical remote and pressing the red button on top of it. Suddenly, Kiba was overcome by an intense electrical shock enveloping his body. So strong, in fact, that it pushed him back out to his allies.

"Are you okay, Kiba?" Hinata worried, kneeling over to him.

"Yea." He nodded. "I'm fine." He rubbed his head as he looked at his hand, where the stamp placed on it had stopped glowing.

"Remember those stamps that Cheeky gave you?" He persuaded. "If you try anything hasty, it will give you a powerful electrical shock of 200 volts. All it takes is the simple press of a button." He grinned as he showed off his remote.

"You really do have a bad naming sense, y'know that?" Naruto chided.

"Insulting me isn't a good idea, either." He prepared to press it again.

"Wait!" Amy called. "What will it take to free Akamaru? Just tell us and we _might_ agree."

"Simple. Just trade me the Chaos Emerald in your possession and I'll give him to you."

Sonic glanced at Amy feeling unsure. He needed the Chaos Emerald to save the world, but no one could take a hostage situation sitting down.

"Before we do," Sonic interrupted, "I have just one question." Eggman listened intently.

"You want to beat Metal Sonic just as much as us, right? Why are you still trying to fight us for the Emeralds?"

"Well," Eggman pondered, "Because I know something that could be very crucial to your mission."

"What is it?" Sonic demanded to know.

"First, the Emerald."

Amy walked over to the bleachers and held the Emerald up to Eta, who walked over with Akamaru in possession to make the trade. Amy handed the gem, Eta handed the dog. They walked away to their corresponding sides. Amy opened the cage and Akamaru happily leapt to his master, who was licking him, joyfully.

"Akamaru…" Kiba said with relief.

"Now," Sonic continued, "What exactly do you know?"

"Well," Eggman started, but then proceeded to pull a lever at his side, raising a cage gate on the other side of the tent. Out from it leapt a gigantic mechanical monstrosity: A robotic dog with armor plating around several limbs and an armored mask protecting its face, save for its red eyes. Upon the top of its head was a glowing antenna that jolted downward slightly. It had glowing railing running down its spine and tail.

"If you can beat my pet," He grinned, "I _might_ just tell you." He and his robot minions laughed with glee as another box seat opened as if to act as an announcer's table.

"Goooooooood Evening, Everybody!" cheered the obnoxious ticket booth guy. "This is your host, E-56 Cheeky, here! And let's get ready as our mechanical canine friend gets ready to have a hefty lunch!"

"That guy's _really_ beginning to piss me off…" Kiba and Naruto growled.

"Get ready, guys!" Sonic said, as he prepped for battle. "Here it comes."

The beast scuffed its hind legs as it sniffed out its prey, and then began to charge out at them. They split up into the same groups of two they started with, causing it to stop directly in its tracks and try to decide who to hunt first. It looked around to sniff before Sonic charged at his face with a fast "**Homing Attack**", knocking its face down and pushing it back slightly. It roared out to the annoying blue rat and attempted to chomp down on it, unaware that he was just moving too fast around him, leaping and kicking its legs all the while.

While it was distracted, Amy took this opportunity to hammer it in the armored face while it wasn't looking. It was able to dent him slightly, but it didn't phase the monster himself. He prepared to bite at Amy, but luckily, Sonic rushed in and scooped her up before it could.

Angered that its lunch got away, the beast prepared to chase again, but it felt a tingling moving up its spine as Naruto grinded on the railing, leaping to the antenna, attempting to grab hold, but before it could, it looked up, knocking Naruto in the air and then chomped down on him, sinking its teeth in very deeply. "POOF!" A cloud of smoke appeared in its stead, for it was only a **Shadow Clone**. Angry and confused, Naruto charged out, this time with a "**Rasengan**" in hand. The orb of chakra pressed deeply onto the helmet, only proceeding to dent it further and even crack it slightly. It picked its paw up to its face and scraped Naruto away.

It prepared to charge again to see if this, too, was a fake, but before he could bite, he felt hard pressing on its legs. Its joints, to be exact, as Hinata was pounding on them using "**Gentle Fist**" intending to dismember the dog by its legs. He tried to scrape her away or step on her, but she was able to flexibly dodge the attacks with ease, pressing even further along the way. It eventually managed to get one shot in, kicking her away into the air, but Naruto saw and used "**Shadow Clone Jutsu**!" to dash out and rescue her.

He leapt off the wall and caught her, landing in front of the beast in a somersault motion. "Are you okay?" Naruto asked, earning a happy nod in reply.

"Doctor, this is bad…" Cheeky groaned, "They're dispatching your loyal pet…!"

"Don't worry." He grinned, holding the shock remote. "If things get really bad, I'll give them the signal."

The dog struggled to walk over to the pests, the joint pressuring taking effect, but before he could attack further, it felt several tingling feelings taking up its legs again. Only this time, it came in much smaller varieties. Several bugs were trying to gnaw at the legs, thanks to Shino's "**Great Swarm Jutsu**." Having the natural instincts installed, it tried to scratch them off using its hind legs, but with little prevail. The bugs flew off its legs and began to envelop its helmet, finishing off what Naruto and Amy started.

It shook its head furiously, trying to shake off the bugs, but unfortunately for it, two Kibas were heading towards it in a drilling fashion, the bugs clearing out of the way of "**Fang over Fang**!" As the two drilled onto its face, they finally found success, as the armor fell clean off. As the two leapt off, Sonic leapt in for one final blow. He spun intensely for a "**Spin Dash**" as he pressed continuously on the beast's head, causing it to eventually pulsate with electricity and explode. Sonic skidded on the other side of where the robot dog used to be and held a thumbs up to Eggman.

"The game's up, Eggman!" He confidently shouted.

"Not yet, it isn't!" He shouted as he pressed the button, yet again. This time, the stamps began to glow on everyone's hands and Akamaru's head, and they were all overcome with electricity. "Sonic!" Amy groaned, trying to move, but with no success. Unfortunately, Sonic could barely move himself.

Naruto, also struggling, took note of the sprinklers dangling from the ceiling of the tent. Smoke was emanating from the robot's remains, yet the sprinklers weren't activating. Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out a kunai knife and struggled to move his arm, but slowly and surely, he managed to toss it with ease, cutting one of the sprinklers, causing it and the rest to activate.

As the water sprinkled down, suddenly the shocks began to simmer down and the ink from the stamps began to wash away. They all breathed heavily and took in the great help they just got.

"I've never been so happy to have water around…" Sonic sighed.

"The ink from the stamps washes away?!" Eggman growled.

"The convenience store was out of Sharpie." Eta shrugged.

"All we could get was Roseart…" Theta gigged nervously.

"We're sorry…" They both bowed.

"Rrgh… No harm done…" He admitted.

"You may have won this time, Sonic!" Eggman shouted from his Egg Mobile. "But at least I've got a beautiful consolation prize!" The car flew away as he held the Chaos Emerald in hand.

"Dammit…" Sonic groaned.

XXXXX

"Oh, c'mon, you guys…" Cheeky whined, trying to save himself from the group of angry Leaf defenders standing over him. "…I was only following my orders from the Doctor, you understand, right?"

"No." Naruto angered, cracking his knuckles.

The wimpy robot turned around before turning back with a single difference. "You wouldn't hurt a guy with glasses, would you?"

"No, of course not." Kiba nodded before kicking in the face, smashing his teeth and instantly shutting him down. "Sniveling robots are different, however."

Akamaru panted.

"Well, this is just great." Sonic groaned. "Eggman got away."

"We should go back and report to Lady Tsunade." Shino suggested.

"We don't have time to waste, Shino!" Sonic pleaded.

"No, but we do have time to plan. You see, I sent one of my bugs to perch upon Dr. Eggman's car while he wasn't looking. Once Tsunade knows the situation at hand, we'll take another chance to pursue him again."

"Well, that's good." Sonic sighed in relief. "I guess that fight did do a number on us. At least I had fun along the way."

"Oh, Sonic." Amy smiled happily.

"Well, let's get going, guys." Naruto nodded, turning around only to receive the dismembered head of Cheeky thrown directly into his face. Hinata gasped in reaction to this as Kiba, counting his recollected Ryo (with interest) said, "By the way, Naruto… We're even." Akamaru happily barked in agreement.


End file.
